Keeping in the holiday spirit of senseless traditions that revolve around commerce, I want to wish you all a Happy Cyber Monday.
Of course, if you're reading this, that means you're not busy on one of the many e-commerce sites offering sweet deals. Or, you're utilizing the 30 seconds it takes for Amazon to process your order to read this blog. (Thanks!)
Either way, despite the fact that Cyber Monday is touted as the holiday for online retailers, we have reason to suspect it will be a short-lived phenomenon.
Oh, sure, there's still that whole "bad economy" thing that's holding some back from spending. ShopperTrak, a research firm that monitors sales, says that Black Friday sales rose just 0.5 percent, to $10.66 billion (as opposed to 3 percent last year).
But on the other hand, comScore shows that Black Friday was a great day for e-retailers, which saw $595 million in U.S. holiday spending online, an 11 percent increase from a year ago.
I like shopping, but I usually spend Black Friday under my bed, uneager to fight someone's grandma for the last $4 toaster at Target. But it seems there was little to fear, with much of the country turning to the Tubes for their holiday needs a few days before schedule.
Hmm... So if everyone's shopping online on Black Friday, where does that leave Cyber Monday?
There's reason to suspect that Cyber Monday may, alas, become obsolete. That isn't to say that today's sales will be abysmal: The Wall Street Journal reports that many in the industry are calling Black Friday's online sales an indication that Cyber Monday, too, will be a success, with comScore projecting sales at $900 million.
But in the future, there may be less of a need for this designated day for online shopping. First off, the great appeal to Cyber Monday was originally that online shoppers could mooch off their employers' high-speed Internet connections. But with broadband reaching more and more homes, that's less critical.
Further, with e-retailers flaunting their Cyber Monday-esque prices before Monday, there's no reason for anyone to wait.
Of course, whether it's Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or Furry Tuesday (whatever), it matters not to the online retailers as long as they're making their sales. This does, however, matter to the old brick-and-mortar independent retailers -- the last ones standing in the physical world where human beings once roamed with open wallets.
Forgive me if I get a little sentimental here, but I find it difficult to watch independent stores close down in exchange for e-retailers and massive chains, like Wal-Mart, Best Buy, and (:::shudder:::) Costco.
But as Cyber Monday faces potential extinction in favor of Cyber Every Day, what we're really at risk of losing here is not just a fun day to slack off at work -- but brick-and-mortar stores themselves, already struggling, as they are, to survive in a bad economy. As books and music go digital, and people find holiday shopping far too strenuous unless it's done via laptop, there's very little that can keep independent retailers alive... in 3D.
I don't know about you, but I want to be able to go to a bookstore to thumb through pages; to browse the aisles of a real-life establishment, rather than typing a product name into a search field. And I want that forever. But we're fast pulling back from the real-world, finding its practices (walking, interacting, etc.) too cumbersome. And, unfortunately, the way people choose to spend their money this holiday season will, in part, dictate what kind of world survives this recession.
Kids, kids... cyberwhatever doesn't have to replace realwhatever. They can co-exist.
OK, so Blockbuster is hitting the wall, and CDs are fading away, and free content's days are numbered, and paper newspapers are, well, hosed. But online shopping (or browsing) enhances my jaunt to the local bookstore! And coffee with my girls downtown makes my Facebook interactions that much better! And the party I go to in real life is fun to relive on FB (save the body-shot shots).
Yes, buying stuff on Cyber Monday or Furry Tuesday or Congealed Wednesday saves many a busy mom time, but unless they are wired for the hermit life, doesn't mean they will NEVER go out again.
Look at the rise of the coffee shop in the last 20 years. People want and flock to that place that is not home, not work, not a friend's house. Same with stores and cafes and libraries and houses of worship and places of general congregation.
Virtual exhibitions abound, AND museum visitorship is off the charts. Virtual shopping is appealing for many, AND have you seen the Pentagon City Mall at lunchtime lately? It's like Black Friday every day. Virtual whatever is here to stay, but we are designed to crave interaction with our fellow man/woman, and that, in the end, will save us from Second Life = Real Life.
Well, there is good news for us, who prefer a real life experience- the more people buying on-line, the more space in real stores:))) We can browse the EMPTY aisles of a real-life establishment, while others browse overcrowded e-stores:)
I'm with you Nicole about shopping in the "real" world, but I avoided the Black Friday madness and Cyber Monday insanity completely spending $0.00 on both days!! I deserve some sort of reward, don'tcha think... ;-)
Well, I did spend time in the "real" world with both of my girls shopping for "holiday" gifts on both Saturday and Sunday...
Re: "I would like to see more video response and it may be a nice thing if you can just blog about the video feature now available at the site so that folks can start giving it a try."
You're in luck, Sir Paul. I've already written this blog, and it will go up on the site right after our IE Radio interview with McAfee. So look out for it! I'm glad to hear you're excited about the new feature.
This happens to be the first video comment I have seen on this site. Does it mean IE readers are not aware of the fact that they can now upload a video response to any of the IE blogs OR is it just a case of people still banking on internet anonymity? I would like to see more video response and it may be a nice thing if you can just blog about the video feature now available at the site so that folks can start giving it a try.
Well it seems people are more enthusistic now to shop online than go to the stores according to Cyber Monday Figures obtained thus far. Whether it is the economic downturn responsible for that, it is a case of 'wait and see'.
At least for those with endemic shoplifting tendencies, online shoping may just be a cool way to save them some embarassing situations!!!
and Nicole..umm, isn't online sales suppose to reach $900 million today? IF I am correct, and IF that takes place, today is the best Black Monday to date. Let that continue, THERE WILL ALWAYS BE A BLACK MONDAY following A BLACK FRIDAY!
AND consumer spending is LOW! My mind is already on Tuesday...Must be IE's IE Radio Tuesday TREND that is altering my time/date equilibrium.
I didn't fall prey to the black friday stuff much, except that the saturday prior, a phone dealer showed their black friday offer, and said they were authorized to honor it right then.
Thus a black friday deal to not be missed!!!
Today I had over 20 Cyber Monday deals including one entitled cyber week deals. Which seems to allow the caveat to extend cyber monday throughout the coming week.
Will it next be cyber month? Or will it be cyber year?
Loved the article, Nicole. You have spurred on the commentary as usual!!!
I feel etailers are not confined to a particular country and are selling globally. With this global phenomenon, the visitors are from different countries and time zones. So, how do the etailers cater to this issue about timings? Do they offer discounts and other promotion based on the visitor's local time, or their own 'server' time?
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In the final episode of this series about the death of Internet anonymity, Saunders describes how the Internet of the future will start to attain a level of intelligence that requires no human intervention. Scary.
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