According to Compete's latest Retail blog, including details about "peaking" holiday shopping this year, 2007 saw four distinct purchase peaks during the holiday shopping season, all of
which were relatively close to each other in terms of volume. This holiday season, 2008, no other single day could match the activity of Cyber Monday and Black Friday. Across this group of 10 major
retailers,* Cyber Monday had at least 25% more people make a purchase online than the next closest day in December.
?*Leading Retailers are: Amazon.com, BestBuy.com, JCPenney.com, Kohls.com,
Macys.com, Overstock.com, Sears.com, Target.com, ToysRUs.com, and Walmart.com
Few have heard about "Green Monday," says the report, which is designated as the 2nd Monday of
December, named by eBay in a marketing campaign for late-season holiday shopping, to mark the last chance to order items without having to pay for expedited shipping (which usually means the end of
free shipping offers).
However, in 2008, December began on a Monday, which caused debate over the real date of Green Monday. Some anticipated December 15th (the 3rd Monday) to be a busier day
because it better represented the true last chance to save on shipping. But the final figures suggest that final shipping dates in 2008 may not have been as precisely fixed as expected, as "Green
Monday" had the lowest conversion rate out of the four days, after being the highest in 2007.
Daily Volumes Of Online Purchasers During The Holiday Season (Across 10 Leading Retailers) |
Date | 2008 | 2007 |
11/20 | 779,667 | 650,316 |
11/21 | 810,664 | 573,433 |
11/22 | 917,679 | 766,099 |
11/23 | 1,041,956 | 1,536,511 |
11/24 | 955,654 | 1,107,816 |
11/25 | 890,163 | 1,060,156 |
11/26 | 826,010 | 1,334,597 |
11/27 | 1,221,686 | 907,685 |
11/28 | 2,613,012 | 886,936 |
11/29 | 1,597,573 | 919,766 |
11/30 | 1,495,769 | 896,056 |
12/1 | 2,685,065 | 1,230,037 |
12/2 | 1,701,921 | 1,229,548 |
12/3 | 1,592,458 | 1,159,408 |
12/4 | 1,620,381 | 1,136,247 |
12/5 | 1,583,884 | 1,058,963 |
12/6 | 1,766,682 | 1,022,861 |
12/7 | 2,128,706 | 1,079,622 |
12/8 | 1,897,776 | 1,234,778 |
12/9 | 1,839,848 | 1,556,797 |
12/10 | 1,850,168 | 1,352,303 |
12/11 | 1,872,683 | 1,298,823 |
12/12 | 1,772,988 | 1,189,258
|
12/13 | 1,941,887 | 1,170,153 |
12/14 | 2,110,348 | 1,119,966 |
12/15 | 2,155,051 | 1,279,348 |
12/16 | 1,965,303 | 1,432,716 |
12/17 | 1,744,420 | 1,288,793 |
12/18 | 1,488,374 | 1,029,023 |
12/19 | 1,287,681 | 815,673 |
12/20 | 1,186,371 | 636,824 |
12/21 | | 518,628 |
12/22 | | 533,928 |
12/23 | | 466,294 |
12/24 | | 367,581 |
12/25 | | 407,332 |
Source: Compete, January 2009 |
On all four of
the "key dates", the daily conversion rate (percent of shoppers making a purchase) increased in 2008 from the prior year as shoppers become more accustomed to doing their gift buying through
a retailer's website.
The report writer concludes that "... As retailers pull out all the stops to salvage their years, shoppers... realize that clicking a mouse can be a... more
pleasant shopping experience than wrestling the last item on the shelf... and... never-ending checkout lines."
Holiday Season Key Online Purchase Peaks (Across 10 Leading Retailers, 2007 vs. 2008) |
| Calendar date | Purchasers | Conversion Rate |
| 2007 | 2008 | 2007 | 2008 | % Change | 2007 | 2008 |
Black Friday | Nov 23 | Nov 28 | 1,536,511 | 2,613,012 | 70% | 7.60% | 10.51% |
Cyber Monday | Nov 26 | Dec 1 | 1,334,597 | 2,685,065 | 101% | 7.13% | 9.51% |
Green Monday | Dec 10 | Dec 8 | 1,352,303 | 1,897,776 | 40% | 8.07% | 8.52% |
Following Monday | Dec 17 | Dec 15 | 1,288,793
| 2,151,829 | 67% | 7.97% | 9.87% |
Source: Compete, January 2009 Leading
Retailers are: Amazon.com, BestBuy.com, JCPenney.com, Kohls.com, Macys.com, Overstock.com, Sears.com, Target.com, ToysRUs.com, and Walmart.com. |
Please
visit Concept here for more information and charts.