Weekly Tips - “Cyber Monday” is all hype … or is it?, David Dittman

     I want to share with you a special “Black Friday” story …

     Two years ago, right before “Cyber Monday” was invented, I decided to brave the lines and go out at the crack of dawn on Friday.

     I had a clear plan.

     On Thanksgiving night, I was going to fill up on equal parts wine and turkey, thus ensuring that I was sound asleep by about 6:00pm. I figured this would give me the best chance for waking up early the following morning.

Next, I would wake up at 3:00am and drive an hour to the closest Circuit City that was essentially giving away a computer.

Circuit City was opening their doors at 4:00am and I was sure that only a handful of people would be stupid enough to wake up that early.

"Well, by now the numbers are in from this year’s “Black Friday” and “Cyber Monday.” Unless you’ve purposely been avoiding “Black Friday” articles, you know that “Black Friday” is one of the most anticipated days in the retail world and has a direct effect on the immediate future of the retailer."
- David Dittman

So with my plan in place, I started my drinking and eating around 3:00pm on Thanksgiving.

     The plan was going off without a hitch, I was soundly asleep by 6:00pm and my alarm woke me up at 2:30am.

     Now, I was in a great mood for 2:30 in the morning … Everything was transpiring just as planned, now all I needed to do was drive in and collect my prize that Circuit City was foolishly giving away.

     Of course my dreams came crashing down as I approached Circuit City and the parking lot was packed to the gills with a line around the block.

     Well, it didn’t work out, when I finally did make it into the store the lines were so big, it was ridiculous.

     I did learn that there were hundreds of crazy people living very close to me and they loved Circuit City.

     So I finally gave up … the funniest part of the story, however, is that the sale they were having actually went on for two days and when I returned the next day, they still had one computer left.

     In the end I was able to get my almost free computer and with much less hassle.

     Well, by now the numbers are in from this year’s “Black Friday” and “Cyber Monday.” Unless you’ve purposely been avoiding “Black Friday” articles, you know that “Black Friday” is one of the most anticipated days in the retail world and has a direct effect on the immediate future of the retailer.

     The successes and failures on that dreaded Friday tell volumes to economic and marketing strategists. We’ve all known about this day for years now, and in recent years it’s ridiculous the lengths that companies will go to, to bring customers out.

     It was only a matter time that online retailers would attempt a similar benchmarking event. That’s why 2 years ago, “Cyber Monday” was born.

     The term “Cyber Monday” refers to the Monday immediately following “Black Friday.” The theory was simple, consumers would get to work following the crazy weekend shopping and now be able to surf the net looking for all the deals they missed out on.

     The real question is there anything to “Cyber Monday?”

The key element to take into account here is how the phrase came about.

     It all started way back in November of 2005. You see back then people liked buying stuff. They even shopped online … the powers to be over at the National Retail Federation’s online division realized something very suspicious. People shop online, while at work!

     This sparked a great epiphany:

     They saw an emerging trend that was a spike in online sales for some retailers on the Monday following “Black Friday.”

     Why not take this spike in sales, blow it way out of proportion and in the process make a huge promotion out of it!

     We could call it “Cyber Monday.”

EEEExcellent…

     So now comes my question, “What is the point of ‘Cyber Monday’?”

     Answer: Buzz.

     The truth is, most retail stores will not have their best online sales on “Cyber Monday.” It is also true that most brick and mortar stores will not have their biggest sales of the year on “Black Friday” either.

     If that’s the truth, then why create all this hype for “Black Friday”?

    In a word: genius.

     Stores have created a perception that you will get your best sales on “Black Friday” and if you don’t shop you will miss out.

     This coupled with major news sources constantly bringing up the two shopping days will ensure that the “buzz” lives on.
Now, don’t get me wrong … I have nothing against “buzz” and more over I commend the stores for creating this must buy now feel.

     So the hype aside, what is the busiest day of the year for shopping?

     The Saturday before Christmas is the grand winner.

     Now this makes a lot of sense to me … I’ve only shopped once on “Black Friday” (And never will again), but the Saturday before Christmas is key for my entire Christmas shopping plan.

     I can think of countless Christmases where all the sudden it’s December 17th and I say to myself “Wow, it’s almost Christmas … wait … I don’t have any presents for anyone!”

     Now I’m scrambling around trying to quickly balance my checking account to figure just how much I can spend, once the weekend shows up I’m ready to go and I start my buying.

     So, how does that translate to “Cyber Monday?”

     Turns out, the same thing holds true here. Retailers get a first spark on “Cyber Monday,” but they have many busier days.

     Last year “Cyber Monday” brought in $608 million, with 11 more days in December all bringing in more money.

     The moral of the story is that you can’t beat the hype that these days bring to the table I mean, even I’m writing an article about them …

     As a retailer this does tell you some pretty important trends with today’s consumer.'

More and more consumers are online on Thanksgiving itself, mainly searching for the best deals of the following day, but also looking for a way to get out of fighting the traffic the next day …
If your sales aren’t blockbuster on “Black Friday” or “Cyber Monday” it’s not time to throw in the towel. If you are on a limited promotion budget, your best bet is to focus on the first 15 days of December.
One of the most searched terms on the days preceding “Black Friday” is “Black Friday Ads”, so people know the term “Black Friday” and they are searching for deals.

I hope this helps as you plan your strategy for the last great push of marketing this year and you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I’d love to hear about your crazy “Black Friday” stories, feel free to e-mail or post a comment letting us know.