Although indications show that today, Cyber Monday, will be the biggest online shopping day ever, consumer experts are saying that the 10-year-old shopping holiday is losing its original luster because shoppers can and do shop via the internet every day.
Cyber Monday 2015 is expected to bring in $3 billion in online sales.
President of retail trade group The National Retail Federation (NRF) Matthew Shay says, “It’s no longer about one day, but a season of digital deals.”
Cyber Monday was coined in 2005 by the NRF’s online division, Shop.org, to encourage people to shop online. The name also unofficially made it okay to shop online while at work, where faster internet connections made it easier to browse.
Gene Alvarez, managing vice president of research firm Gartner, says as online shopping grows more popular on Thanksgiving and Black Friday, it will bring “less of a frenzy on Cyber Monday, too”.
“Consumers are recognizing the Internet is the place to go for a deal any time, any day,” says Alvarez.
Retailers have been pushing online bargains since early November, with some items already being sold, but the majority only being advertised as being available on Black Friday or Cyber Monday.
Research firms ShopperTrak and Comscore say that online shopping is continuing to take its toll on brick-and-mortar shopping. The frenzied crowds previously seen lining up for after Thanksgiving Day sales are down and this year sales fell to $10.4 compared to $11.6 billion in 2014.
Comscore is predicting online sales to rise 14 percent to $70.06 billion over November and December, a one percent drop for the same period last year.
Online sales make up 10 percent of overall retail sales, but that rises to 15 percent during the holidays as online shoppers continue to make use of Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals.
