It’s only a few months away from “the most wonderful time of the year” and the ecommerce experts are keeping an eye on what’s going to be the big hit of the season. In fact, the predictions started several months ago! This is good news for the average online merchant, as you may be able to discern a few nuggets of truth out of the info.
Before things get really geared up in the online seller’s market, let’s see what the buzz is so far. Knowing what’s around the corner may give you a heads up on early sales as well as taking full advantage of the 2011 Cyber Monday.
Cyber Monday
For those who don’t know, Cyber Monday is the online version of Black Friday. The name started off as sort of a joke on Black Friday, but now it’s no laughing matter. Cyber Monday takes place the Monday after Black Friday, when most folks are back at work, at their computers, ready to shop for gifts they didn’t score out at the malls on Black Friday.
Last year’s Cyber Monday brought over $1 billion dollars, the first time it’s hit that benchmark. That’s a 16% increase from 2009, tied with 2008 as the third biggest increase from the previous year. And 2011 will be no different, especially since other countries have started to adopt the unofficial holiday. Last year, German ecommerce shoppers enjoyed Cyber Monday deals for the first time.
If sales increase as much as they did in 2010, then we can expect around $1.2 billion dollars in revenue this year. That is a lot of money to grab on November 28th! According to Shop.org (the organization that named Cyber Monday), there’s more money to be made the rest of the season, but Cyber Monday is the big “kick-off.” Make sure you take advantage.
Christmas Season
Cyber Monday isn’t the only time you can expect to make a lot of dough. The rest of the Christmas season is predicted to show a rather large increase this year as well. According to Mercent, the digital marketing platform provider, sales through their portal have steadily increased throughout the year. Based on their second quarter findings, they predict sales will reach the $1.2 billion mark. And that’s just through their platform!
Other figures show that sale percentages decreased between the holiday season and early 2011, which is to be expected. One of the most interesting findings is that Amazon took top spot for third party selling site. eBay and Amazon are constantly battling for top position, and it looks like Amazon might be the big winner this Christmas.
Overall, it’s looking like a strong holiday season for ecommerce sellers. It may not be quite as large as Black Friday and “traditional” shopping, but ecommerce is quickly becoming the norm for a large percentage of Americans (and beyond – but that’s a topic for another blog post).