Everybody was so busy being excited about Cyber Monday after the news told them to be, that we missed the announcement that the 12th busiest shopping day of the year was actually 3rd on the list of Cyber Mondays, after Cyber Mondays 2 and 3, but not 4, depending on which day Christmas is. And now it’s become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Statistician’s Blues They say 3 percent of the people use 5 to 6 percent of their brain
97 percent use 3 percent and the rest goes down the drain
I’ll never know which one I am but I’ll bet you my last dime
99 percent think with 3 percent 100 percent of the time
64 percent of all the world’s statistics are made up right there on the spot
82.4 percent of people believe em whether they’re accurate statistics or not
-Todd Snider
Huh?
Exactly.
On November 30th, Corante’s Adam Viener made the most astute observation of anyone.
“Maybe every Monday in December is Cyber-Monday?” asked Viener.
Ding ding ding ding ding! That’s right Adam! You’ve won an explanation!
Though Shop.org coined the Cyber Monday neologism (we need a neologism for the word neologism-that word sucks) and decided it belonged to the Monday after the day after Thanksgiving (Black Friday), another marketing firm said, “hang on, there’s more.” But nobody could hear over the online bell ringing.
Performics, the marketing division of DoubleClick Advertising Solutions announced in a statement that there are four “Cyber Mondays” occurring between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The company predicted that December 5th and December 12th would likely be the largest sales volume days.
Those in the loop had already noticed a spike in Monday traffic-every Monday before Christmas. Not knowing the proper buzz word to call it, Atlas Solutions noted the trend on November 10th.
From their statement:
“Mondays reign as the biggest online shopping day during the holiday season for three years running and an operating unit of aQuantive, Inc., also predicts the single biggest day of the 2005 online holiday shopping season will take place on a Monday – December 12th.”
And it would have been too, if every news outlet in the country hadn’t run with the ne-o-lobuzzword. But now the Monday after Black Friday will forever be Cyber Monday, as the public understood it and embraced it.
After it was all over, Coremetrics reported that Cyber Monday was a success, and the new reigning champion of the holiday season.
“Data collected revealed that online traffic to retail sites peaked on November 28th this year,” said Coremetrics.
And there you have it folks, the power of suggestion at work in the world of marketing. Whisper into the right person’s ear, and you have yourself a new holiday. At least everybody knows now so they can prepare better for next year.
Here’s a list compiled from the suggestions of Performics and Atlas Solutions on how to prepare for next year’s Manic (I mean Cyber) Mondays:
Message specifically to weekend shoppers: On Mondays, marketers should attempt to message to consumers who have been shopping in stores during the weekend. Specifically, traditional retailers should align the product promotions in their online advertising with those promotions occurring in their brick-and-mortar stores. (Atlas)
Target the workweek lunch hour: The noon-to-3 p.m. EST hours are typically the time of day when consumers buy. Marketers should tailor holiday online advertising messages to at-work audiences and take advantage of daypart advertising opportunities and publishers. (Atlas)
Personalized, monogrammed or other custom made products, for example, are more likely to peak earlier. Low consideration or perishable items such as gift cards or food, however, are more likely to peak later, on Cyber Monday 3 or 4. (Performics)
Slow down on Saturdays. Each week during the holiday season, the data shows a dramatic spike on Monday, followed by a gradual decrease throughout the week and ending with the softest sales volume on Saturday. Sunday begins a slow climb that spikes on Monday. (Performics)
Monitor paid search campaigns: Clicks on paid search keywords reveal a similar pattern to overall transactions. Most clicks occur during the workday and workweek. Mondays in December are the biggest day for search clicks – 12 percent higher than the average day. Marketers should carefully analyze their search results to ensure that the increased click volume is worth the cost. (Atlas)
