If you’re anything like me, you have a profound love for statistics. If you’re anything like our 16,000+ Volusion store owners, you especially love statistics that show record breaking days of online sales. Let’s take a look at some Holiday definitions for these big days of online sales, along with some data that proves how this year was even better than last year in regards to online shopping!
Black Friday Defined
The day after Thanksgiving in the United States, Black Friday is labeled as one of the busiest retail shopping days of the year in regards to site traffic. It is also often considered the official beginning of the holiday shopping season. Online retailers have taken advantage of this information and many sites now offer discounts and promotions throughout their stores during this day. Although it is often the busiest day in terms of customer traffic, it is usually not the day of highest online sales.
Black Friday: 2009 versus 2008
While sales on Black Friday in 2008 were up $3 million from 2007, Black Friday in 2009 saw a $61 million increase from the year prior.
Black Friday, 2008 – $534 Million
Black Friday, 2009 – $595 Million
Cyber Monday Defined
A phrase invented by the National Retail Federation’s Shop.org division, Cyber Monday refers to the Monday immediately following Black Friday (aka. “The Monday after Thanksgiving”). Similar to Black Friday, it is one of the busiest shopping days of the year and significant discounts are offered throughout many online stores. According to the Executive Director of Shop.org, the term was derived based on research revealing that in 2004, 77% of online retailers reported a significant increase in sales on the Monday after Thanksgiving. The young term was quickly embraced by the online community, with many now preparing their sites and offering online specials for this particular day.
Cyber Monday: 2009 versus 2008
In 2008, the increase in online sales on Cyber Monday jumped a whopping $113 million from 2007′s total of $733 million. Although the next year’s increase was not as large, that day still held strong in 2009 with an additional $41 million made in online sales.
Cyber Monday, 2008 – $846 Million
Cyber Monday, 2009 – $887 Million
Green Monday Defined, 2009 Data
According to BusinessWeek , eBay came up with this moniker “after realizing that, for the past three years, the strongest sales day for Shopping.com and other eBay sites was the second Monday of December.” Although Green Monday saw a large amount of sales, the biggest day in 2009 was actually the third Tuesday of December, with $59 million more spent online. Recent data suggests that many employees are now shopping online while at work. Perhaps Tuesdays are a better fit for Holiday shopping, rather than your typical “manic Monday” that starts off the busy work week.
Green Monday, December 14th 2009 – $854 Million
(click to enlarge)
The Biggest Online Shopping Day of the Year (aka= “The Big Day with No Name”)
Although we gave it a shot with our “2009 prediction for this season’s busiest selling day,” as you can see from the chart above, it’s almost impossible to predict when that big day will occur each year. The pattern from 2000-2005 was the same, with that day falling on the “second Monday before Christmas”, while 2006 strayed from the norm. The big day has not followed this same pattern ever since. There is, however, one pattern that remains steady- the fact that sales will continue to increase from one year to the next!
2008 – Tuesday, December 9th – $887 million (up $6M from year prior)
2009 – Tuesday, December 15th – $913 million (up $26M from year prior)
Although making a prediction on the exact date for the biggest day of online sales is a challenge, it is safe to say that 2010 will see another record breaking day. Let’s toast to reaching the billion mark together, with one big Holiday online shopping day soon! Cheers! *clink*
- Stacie Leonard, Search Marketing Manager
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