Black Friday Losing to Cyber Monday

Black Friday seems like a firmly entrenched part of the Thanksgiving weekend. Few people can imagine their holiday weekend without the fun and excitement of feasting and then immediately heading out for a little shopping…

But times are changing.

For many years in recent memory, Black Friday was the hands down leading day for shopping each year. As more consumers transition to shopping online that designation may be starting to shift.

The Rise of Cyber Monday

That’s right: As more and more shoppers turn to the internet to shop, Cyber Monday is starting to take over as the most shopped day of the year.

A relative newcomer to the Thanksgiving weekend, Cyber Monday was only invented a little under 15 years ago. Ellen Davis of the National Retail Federation and Scott Silverman gave this big online shopping day its name, and the first Cyber Monday made its debut on November 28, 2005.

Originally created by retailers as a way to encourage people to shop online, Cyber Monday has become the online equivalent to Black Friday. This unique sales day now offers a way for smaller retail websites to compete with the larger chains and big online stores.

We have a late Thanksgiving 2019, so this year, Cyber Monday falls on Monday, December 2nd. Unlike years past, most consumers plan to go online to handle most of their gift shopping this holiday season.

One thing that’s leading the charge to shop online is the wealth of information you can find on deal sites and coupon apps. *This year, consumers plan to take advantage of these kinds of innovations to help them shop smarter, or to buy what they would normally buy in a more informed way. *

Cyber Monday is Taking Over

According to Deloitte's 2019 Holiday Survey of Consumers:
* 59% of this season's spending will take place online
* 36% will happen in-store
* the remaining 5% will be through catalogs

The top retail categories will be:
* clothing (26%)
* food/beverage and health/wellness (20%)
* toys and hobbies (17%)
* electronics (15%)

Not only are people changing where and when they shop, they’re changing how they shop, too. Every year, more shoppers are making purchases on the go with their smartphones. Nowadays, most people who visit a site via their smartphones say they're going to make a purchase, and that has steadily increased over the years. Two years ago, this number was 59%. In 2018, the number of smartphone shoppers rose to 67%, and the forecast for 2019 is as high as 70%.

Yet another report (this one from Accenture) seems to show that Black Friday is falling out of favor, as more early bird holiday shoppers opt to skip both the mall and Main St. shops by waiting and buying online on Cyber Monday.

Upgrade Your Cyber Monday Shopping

While these trends certainly look promising in favor of Cyber Monday becoming the new holiday shopping king, there are still some innovations available that consumers aren’t taking advantage of as much yet.

For example, many people aren’t using shipping apps. Instead, they’re still using standard delivery methods for their purchases. This leads to “porch piracy", where thieves scoop up packages after delivery - before the buyer even knows a package has arrived. To combat the growing problem of package theft, retailers have created workarounds such as curbside pickup and in-store delivery lockers. While these measures aren’t trending yet, they might be valid options for Cyber Monday shoppers who want to buy online without the risk of theft.

With the introduction of new innovations like shipping apps and delivery lockers, retailers and consumers are still transitioning to a more seamless online shopping experience. As this process continues, there will be great opportunities for shoppers both in-store and online. Stores will continue to put out better deals to attract people to come out and shop in person, and online retailers will continue to offer deep discounts to get a bigger share of the growing online market.

Save Even More

Whether you plan to face the crowds on Black Friday, or you look forward to staying in and shopping on Cyber Monday, you’re sure to save money with just a little extra effort. If you want to save big this shopping season, pay attention to both online and in-store sales and save even more with coupons from sites like Savings.com.