by Robin Fiedler

The top 10 retailers’ online shopping day for 2007-2008 was Cyber Monday 2008 with Black Friday online shopping just a smidgen lower. Who are the 2008 top 10 online retailers?

“According to comScore the Leading Retailers are: Amazon.com, BestBuy.com, JCPenney.com, Kohls.com, Macys.com, Overstock.com, Sears.com, Target.com, ToysRUs.com, and Walmart.com,” posted on Compete.com.

What do the numbers show for 2007-2008? Dillon McGovern on Compete.com remarks that 2007 “saw four distinct purchase peaks during the holiday shopping season, all of which were relatively close to each other in terms of volume.” The four hottest 2007 online shopping days were Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Green Monday, and the Monday after Green Monday.

Then for 2008 online shopping, McGovern adds, “neither Green Monday, nor any other single day could match the activity of Cyber Monday and Black Friday.” Almost 3 million purchases for the top 10 retailers on Black Friday and Cyber Monday versus around 2 million purchases on Green Monday and the Monday after. For all online shoppers, Ellen Davis VP of NRF says, “In 2008, an estimated 85 million people shopped on Cyber Monday.”

McGovern’s numbers are based on the number of online shoppers who made a purchase, not the dollar amount of the online sales. The number may not indicate much about total dollars spent, but instead about consumers’ behavior and holiday sales marketing Internet practices. The best holiday deals are offered early during sales after Thanksgiving. Consumers make most of their purchases Black Friday weekend when the best deals are offered, emptying out inventories on “doorbusters” and “loss leaders.” Thus with all the cheap holiday below cost items off the table, online sales decrease. 

As far as the best deals Cyber Monday 2009, the ads are being as closely guarded as the Black Friday ads. We may hear smatterings of a ‘leaked’ ad, such as what happened with Office Max, or rumored sales prices, such as laptop deals, but none of it will be official until a day or two before Thanksgiving. We have to look to history for trends on what to expect.

Davis notes that 658 online retailers are listed on CyberMonday.com who will offer discounts, promotions in 2009. As well, the top 10 retailers continue to compete for shoppers. Expect up to 50% off from BestBuy, Amazon, Kmart, and Wal*mart on a large array of electronics from plasma TV’s HDTV’s, computers, both PC and laptops, printers, digital cameras, GPS navigation, and cell phones. The catch is that there will be ‘very’ limited quantities.

Toys will be 20-30% off while Wal*mart, Kmart, Amazon, Toys R US, and Target compete to offer the best deals. Online retailers, such as JCPenney, Macy’s, Target, Kohl’s, Sears and Overstock will compete to sell clothes and household items at the lowest prices. Finally, jewelry will be a hot holiday sale item, but may not be discounted as much as electronics.

My personal prediction for Cyber Monday:  laptops will be the best deals because Internet shoppers need the fastest, most reliable laptop to complete the remainder of their holiday online shopping. It’s only logical that online retailers want consumers to own a laptop.

Warning - While I searched for Cyber Monday deals, more than one questionable, virus infected, spyware, pop-up deluging site came up. The FBI and Washington State Attorney General issued warnings about scams, fraud, and counterfeit websites. Please shop online with care and diligence.

References

“All Consuming Blog: Internet Safety.” Washington State Office of the Attorney General. http://www.atg.wa.gov/allconsuming.aspx?category=Internet%20Safety

Davis, Ellen. “How to Capitalize on Cyber Monday.” Shop.org. 15 Oct. 2009. http://blog.shop.org/2009/10/15/how-to-capitalize-on-cyber-monday/

McGovern, Dillon. “Green Monday vs. Cyber Monday: When did Holiday Shopping Really Peak?” Compete.com 5 Jan. 2009.  http://blog.compete.com/2009/01/05/green-monday-holiday-shopping/

“‘Tis the Season…For Online Shopping: How to Avoid Getting Grinched.” Federal Bureau of Investigation. 28 Nov. 2005. http://www.fbi.gov/page2/nov05/onlineshoppingtips112805.htm

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