Marketing Pilgrim

With all the hype surrounding Cyber Monday this year, I was actually surprised to find out that it was justified for once. comScore reports that Cyber Monday had record-setting spending: $733 million, to be exact. And the subsequent days also saw $700+ in sales, with Thursday coming in close second to Monday.

Compared to last year’s peak day, sales are up 11% or $72 million. However, that actually constitutes slower (and smaller) growth. From 2005 to 2006, sales rose 19%. More telling, from ‘05-’06, sales increased $105 million.

But I don’t think it’s over yet. The peak online retail days for 2006 and 2007 were not, in fact, the so-called “Cyber” Monday: they were Monday, December 11, 2006 and Monday, December 12, 2005. As I wrote about this last year:

It looks like the theory behind Cyber Monday proved correct—people do a lot of online shopping when they get back to work after a break. However, instead of the Monday after Thanksgiving being the peak, people just buy more and more on successive Mondays.

So has the holiday season peaked? Today might be too close to Christmas, unless you’re willing to pay for expedited shipping.

My prediction for this year? December 10 will be the real “Cyber” Monday.

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