Friday’s blog was all about Black Friday and today’s blog is dedicated to Cyber Monday. What does that mean? It means the holiday shopping season is upon us! Friday presented a lot of door-crasher deals, but today is about sitting at home (or work) and logging in for great buys. This year, Cyber Monday spending is expected to outdo last year’s record-setting pace. Limber up your fingers, cuz it’s time to shop.
In the Beginning…
Cyber Monday is an e-commerce invention conceived by Shop.org in 2005. It was an online retail response to Black Friday and it quickly caught on. In the last thirteen years, the Monday after American Thanksgiving has become synonymous with internet deals. Consumers tend to head to bigger sites like Amazon and Walmart, but lots of smaller retailers also take advantage of the buying frenzy with special offers. The biggest attractions tend to be deeply discounted items, free shipping, and free gifts. Who isn’t a sucker for BOGO? Savvy shoppers search out the best buys, but some items should be avoided on Cyber Monday.
Just the Facts
According to a survey done by the Retail Council of Canada, the average Ontarian is projected to spend is $805 this holiday season. That’s an increase from last year and includes gifts, travel, food, and entertainment. When we shop through e-commerce, 68% of the buying is done with our phones. While we still spend most of our money in shops, online shopping isn’t far behind. One more stat: we love our pets and plan to spend an average of $65 on them this year.
Cyber Monday Goes International
Cyber Monday has grown to become an international day of shopping. E-commerce has helped make the day big in Canada, Japan, Australia, Colombia, Brazil, and the UK. However, it’s not the only day people log on to shop.
- Singles Day in China—This day makes more money than any other online shopping day. November 11, or 11-11—a series of ones or singles, is also known as “bare sticks holiday” or “bare branch day”. University students devised this holiday as a sort of anti-Valentine’s Day. Alibaba (China’s Amazon) seized onto the idea of the day as a time to promote online sales.
- El Buen Fin in Mexico—“The Good Weekend” takes place in November over the weekend preceding the Mexican Revolution holiday. This time of deep discounts and deals was inspired by Black Friday and introduced to help revive the country’s economy.
- Great Online Shopping Festival (GOSF) in India—The country has Google to thank for this online shopping holiday. Started in 2012, it’s the December day that online retailers offer up their best discounts.
Video Leads to Conversions
The online marketplace is getting busier all the time. Canadians logged on and spent over $22B last year. Did you know that 87% of online marketers use video content? Given these statistics, it makes sense to have video as part of your marketing plan. From software demos to app promotions, Key West Video produces the kind of videos that support e-commerce. Have a look at some of our online offers and put video to work for your business. Happy Cyber Monday shopping.
