For anyone who has not been living under a rock for the past 10 years–and also explained in the “What is Cyber Monday?” infographic–Cyber Monday is the day of the year that has the largest number of online sales, and which occurs on the Monday after the holiday of Thanksgiving. It is named to contrast the date from that of “Black Friday” which is the biggest brick-and-mortar retail shopping day. Both days are the days in which people find it convenient to shop for Christmas and related near-by holidays. Kwanzaa has been growing in popularity and recognition.
This day does seem to be full of contradictions, though (or, at least, if we accept the figures of Wikipedia). According to common sense and to numerous reports throughout the years (even before the coinage of the term “Cyber Monday”, there are more people and more sales online than there are in the brick-and-mortar stores. However, according to Wikipedia, Cyber Monday in 2013 generated slightly more than $1.7 billion in sales while Black Friday had a phenomenal $61.4 billion in sales. We do not know what to make of this seemingly paradoxical information.
Wikipedia does explain, however (and perhaps counter intuitively) that Black Friday shoppers shop for technology (why do people not shop for technology via technology, via online?) and that Cyber Monday shoppers shop for fashion (why do people shop for things in ways in which it is impossible to try things on?).
In any case, though, the infographic is replete with statistics about Cyber Monday.
Likes: The explanation of the origin of the term. Very detailed information pertaining to all aspects.
Dislikes: A comparison or contrast with Black Friday would’ve been even more fascinating.
In 2005, shop.org coined the phrase Cyber Monday: the biggest online shopping day of the year. Our new infographic explores the history of the popular day, and brings to life interesting statistics for the consumer and the retailer.
