Cyber Monday 2011 on Pace to Best Record Set on Cyber Monday 2010

Last year, Cyber Monday 2010 topped $1B in sales, the highest level of online sales in a single day according to comScore, a top online market-research firm. All indicators release today signal that Cyber Monday 2011 is on pace to surpass Cyber Monday 2010 record sales figures by as much as 20%. Shares of Amazon and eBay, two of the largest US eCommerce sites based on visits and sales, climbed on the news.

Online Shopping Experts predict Cyber Monday to Smash Existing Record by 20%

Cyber Monday shoppers trading convenience over crowds by shopping online

According to a report on Reuters, ChannelAdvisor said clients saw same-store sales via Amazon.com surge 51.4 percent during the first half of Cyber Monday, compared to a year earlier. ChannelAdvisor clients saw same-store sales via eBay’s online marketplace climb 17.1 percent during the first half of Cyber Monday, versus the same period last year. Given the dominant roles of Amazon and eBay in eComerce, merchant figures samples such as these are strong growth indicators for new Cyber Monday 2011 record sales.

Online sales in the US increased 15 percent as of 6 p.m. New York time Cyber Monday 2011 as compared with a Cyber Monday sales year earlier, according to Benchmark, a unit of International Business Machines. IBM Benchmark also reported that 7.4 percent of Cyber Monday shopping as of mid-day was done on Internet-linked mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. This means that shopping online is no longer mean confined to a desktop or laptop, possibly blocking access to the largest online shopping destinations by corporate firewalls in an effort to maximize productivity. Experts expect Cyber Monday 2011 spending to reach $1.2 billion from $1.03 billion last year, according to comScore.

Cyber Monday 2011 on pace to beat previous online sales record by 20%

By Coremetrics’s estimate, online sales on Cyber Monday 2011 were up 15% through 2:25 p.m. EST from Cyber Monday sales from a year earlier. Department stores’ online sales are up 39% and apparel retailers’ are 24% higher according to Coremetrics. Despite more buyers purchasing online, eMarketer, a well-known analyst firm specializing in eCommerce and eMarketing and Internet Advertising, believes overall US retail sales for the year would see “meager growth” of about three percent thanks to sales this holiday season.

Akamai, a leading cloud platform for helping enterprises provide secure, high-performing user experiences, saw 58% retail traffic growth between the hours of midnight and 9:00 AM EST on Black Friday, with the peak during that time period just after midnight. According to Akamai, shoppers continued strong through 2:00 AM, with the 1:00 AM hour alone showing 86% traffic growth year over year. Online sales were strong even over the weekend. Thirty-eight percent of all purchases were made online this year, up from 31 -32 % last year, says Sherif Mityas, partner in the retail practice of A.T. Kearney.

For retailers with a strong online channel, these early sales reports for the long holiday weekend, culminating in Cyber Monday are encouraging figures indeed and are likely driven by at least 3 factors:

1. Strong proliferation of mobile devices – smartphones and tablets,
2. Free shipping and no sales tax in many cases,
3. The price of gas which is, on average, $1/gal higher than this time last year.

The convenience of shopping at home and the bonus of not having to fight over Black Friday deals in brick and mortar stores make online shopping a more compelling experience.

Trust in online shopping has never been higher. Besides, comparison shopping, a survival skill today, is just a few clicks (or scans) away. If you missed your bargain on Black Friday or Cyber Monday, no worries as the deals are sure to be promoted both online and off over the coming weeks. As many watchful economists hope, a new Cyber Monday 2011 sales record could signal a spark of economic optimism amidst a sea of global economic uncertainty.