Shoppers will hit online retail stores in record numbers this Cyber Monday after flooding the malls of America on Black Friday, according to the National Retail Federation.
A total of 106.9 million Americans plan to shop on Cyber Monday this year, up significantly from the estimated 96.5 million who shopped on Cyber Monday in 2009, the federation said, citing a survey conducted for Shop.org by BIGresearch. Nearly nine in 10 retailers will have a special promotion for Cyber Monday, according to the federation.
"While the majority of Cyber Monday shoppers will shop from their home computer (89.5%, or 96 million people), a growing number of people this year say they will shop via their smart phone on Cyber Monday," the federation reported. "More than seven million people (6.9%) will use a mobile device for Cyber Monday shopping, nearly double the estimated 4 million who shopped that way last year (3.8%)."
Shop.org, which is the federation's digital division, invented the term "Cyber Monday" in 2005 to market holiday promotions and other online discounts following the traditional start of the holiday shopping season on the Friday after Thanksgiving. The Cyber Monday trend keeps growing, and sales now include one-day only deals, percentages off websites and free shipping offers.
Dollar figures of Cyber Monday money spent are not yet available, but the Black Friday weekend numbers suggest online retailers will see growth in 2010. This year, 212 million U.S. shoppers visited stores and websites, up 8.7% from 195 million last year, according to a federation survey conducted over the weekend. People spent 6% more, with the average shopper spending $365, up from last year's $343, for an estimated total of $45 billion.
