It was like pulling the plug while the stereo was still going – that droopy drop-off of sound and fury – two years ago when the first so-called “Cyber Monday” was conveniently labeled, leaked, and then debunked as hooey on Tuesday. And again this year, it just ain’t so.
And yes, traffic was up year-over-year and there were more retailers than ever participating. Half of the American workforce was online shopping that day. But the busiest online shopping day of the year? Nope. Probably just the most hyped.
The most recent reality check comes from Compete.com’s Max Freiert, who says it’s time to “stick a fork in the notion of Cyber Monday.” Somebody break it to Max that once the marketing machine gets a hold of something, there’s no turning back – think Valentine’s Day.
How else you going to sell more chocolate in February?
Ah, well. The people need (and love) their myths. Moving on.
Max crunched some numbers to show that both traffic and the amount of time spent at the top 50 online retailers actually decreases a bit on the Monday after Thanksgiving.
Overall, both peaked on Thanksgiving Day. “On Thanksgiving,” writes Matt, nearly 30% of every U.S internet browser visited one of the top 50 online retailers.”
For major retailers with brick-and-mortar presences throughout the country, like Wal-Mart, Target and Best Buy, traffic spiked on Thanksgiving, presumably as shoppers researched Doorbuster specials.
For retailers with just an online presence, like Amazon.com or Overstock.com, traffic peaked on November 24, the day after Black Friday, when everybody’s sick and tired of getting up, getting out and getting pushed around.
Oh well. See you again next year, when the Cyber Monday myth is debunked again.
