Retail Traffic Increased on Cyber Monday This Year
Early reports show increased traffic to retail Web sites on Cyber Monday, the vaunted opening day of the online holiday shopping season. Analysts are still gathering data on actual sales resulting from those visits, but preliminary results indicate a rosier picture than some had expected.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Export Compliance Daily combines U.S. export control news, foreign border import regulation and policy developments into a single daily information service that reliably informs its trade professional readers about important current issues affecting their operations.
North American retail traffic peaked at about 3.27 million visitors per minute on Cyber Monday, according to the Akamai Retail Index, compared to 2.95 million visitors per minute for Cyber Monday 2007. Globally, retail traffic boomed, peaking at 6.71 million visitors per minute vs. 4.6 million visitors per minute last year. Peak global retail traffic on Sunday, 6.5 million visitors per minute, and Black Friday, 5.95 million, nearly matched Monday’s figures, with busy periods.
At least one retailer saw that traffic translate to sales. Target reported sales were up this Cyber Monday by a “double-digit percentage.” The spokeswoman declined to be more specific, but she added that the average order size was slightly higher this year than last. The store has been promoting its message of value for the dollar, she said, and is also offering free shipping and deep discounts. The most popular sales items seemed to be toys and electronics, she said.
David Lavenda, vice president of marketing and product strategy for WorkLight, said last week that online sales would rise this year, and predicted that companies invested in a Web 2.0 strategy would be the beneficiaries. “Online shoppers are now interacting with retailers in much more meaningful ways; ways that transcend the traditional online portal experience,” he said. “Retailers who invested in meeting customers where they spend their time online -- on social networks, desktop and web-based widgets and gadgets, mobile apps and more -- will be able to cash in on this consumer groundswell. Being able to meet customers through Web 2.0 will be a strategic advantage to gaining significant holiday market share.”
Others, like comScore, predict flat online sales this season. ComScore said Black Friday online sales increased by only 1 percent this year. ComScore said overall sales figures for Cyber Monday would be available Wednesday.