alstin communications

While I didn’t join the Black Friday shopping madness, I did go out on Saturday to my favorite ‘one stop shop’ retailer—Target (who’s bullseye logo my soon-to-be 5-year-old son easily recognizes as “Mommy’s favorite store”). The bustling parking lot and limited selection of new plastic Target carts were the first indications that maybe I should have stayed home. However, I forged ahead and managed to purchase some toys and other gifts that I knew were special discounts. On the way home, I vowed to only do the rest of my holiday shopping online.

The term CyberMonday term was born by the NRF as a day for bargain-hunters to take advantage of faster Internet connections at work but the most recent NRF survey found that most shoppers — 91.5 percent — now do so from home. (Obviously with the increased usage of cable/FIOS Internet access).

And now, CyberMonday and now has taken on greater momentum thanks to social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.

As reported today from Mashable’s Adam Ostrow, “According to numbers provided by Coremetrics, sales for this year’s Cyber Monday beat last year by 13.7 percent.

Some other numbers directly from the report [PDF link]:

• The average dollar amount consumers spent per online order rose 38.2 percent from Cyber Monday 2008 ($180.03 versus $130.24), led by apparel retailers.
• Consumers bought nearly 10 percent more items per order on Cyber Monday 2009 compared to Black Friday 2009 and nearly 30 percent more compared to Cyber Monday 2008.
• Consumer shopping hit its peak from 9-10 a.m. PST, but maintained stronger momentum throughout the day than on Cyber Monday 2008.

“Americans appreciate the convenience of shopping online, which doesn’t require standing in line, circling for a parking spot, or even changing out of your pajamas,” said Scott Silverman, executive director of Shop.org. (Author’s note: Amen!)

So, while I’m nowhere near finished holiday shopping, I’m glad to report that the hashtag #ShopCyberMonday was used on Twitter by over 650 retailers on CyberMonday for special discounted items, coupon links, and much more. Facebook users could log on to retailer’s Fan Pages and get access to great coupon codes to use online and sign up for alerts for specials and discounts. What better way for retailers (and employers – hint, hint) to communicate with their customers than directly through social media? It’s a win-win situation where everyone saves, and I’m all about savings this holiday season. (And, all the free shipping offers are a huge time saver!!)

So from now on, I consider myself a confirmed “Cyber-holiday shopper” and you won’t see me trolling the mall parking lots anymore! I’ll be enjoying my coffee in my PJs clicking away and searching for Facebook Fan Page coupon codes and cost-saving #hash tags! Serenity now!

Author Bio:  Jennifer Greenfield, Director, Interactive Services, seems to have coffee, not mortal blood, running through her veins. Juggling her bags (laptop, spinning stuff, cool purse, projector) and array of web-based duties with professionalism, composure and a random assortment of funny faces, Jen, has been with Alstin for more than 13 years, lives and breathes the 'net.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 1st, 2009 at 1:22 pm and is filed under The Daily Update. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.