It is not a coincidence that shopping events occur at the end of November. In most foreign countries, around December is called the holiday season. As such, most of the New Year’s shopping is done around the end of November.
This is exactly why Cyber Monday takes place very close to Black Friday. However, its formation process and history are not at a level comparable to Black Friday. If you wish, let’s start explaining.
When are the Cyber Monday discounts?
As we mentioned above, Cyber Monday takes place on the Monday right after Black Friday. Therefore, Cyber Monday takes place on Monday, November 27 in 2023. However, discount dates may be flexible, as on Black Friday.
Interesting story of the emergence of Cyber Monday:
Cyber Monday was first held in 2005. The organization that started the event and gave it its name was Shop.org. At that time, not everyone had a fast internet connection at home, suitable for shopping, even abroad.
During these times, shopping through websites has increased. An increase was observed especially on Mondays. Large stores started offering discounts valid only online. One of the main purposes of this move was for Cyber Monday to compete with Black Friday.
So if the goal was to compete with Black Friday, why was it called Cyber Monday and not Cyber Saturday? Because as a result of the research, it was seen that people do their online shopping mostly on Mondays.
If you remember, we just said that not everyone has a high-speed internet connection at home. This is why people do their shopping on Monday. People preferred to shop online with fast computers and fast internet.
That’s why Monday has become the brightest day for online stores. They found a clever way to make the most of this situation. The name of this road is Cyber Monday.
Difference between Cyber Monday and Black Friday:
The biggest difference between these two events; Black Friday emerged by adopting the retail logic and Cyber Monday by adopting the online sales logic. So, in the years when Cyber Monday started, people went to stores on Fridays and in front of their computers on Mondays.
Now, online sales are made at least as much on Black Friday as on Cyber Monday. Although thousands of people continue to wait at the doors of most stores, Black Friday has become one of the biggest stakeholders of online retailing.
Which day’s discounts are better?
Black Friday offers higher rates than Cyber Monday when discount rates are considered. Because stores are even willing to lose money on some products at the expense of letting people through the door. It’s all a sales strategy.
On the other hand, on Cyber Monday, people do not have to wait in lines or fight with people to take advantage of discounts, causing an increase in rates. Because sellers know very well the difference between pressing a few buttons and actually going to the store.
The balance sheet of Cyber Monday from past to present:
Cyber Monday has become an event that people pay more attention to every year. In fact, according to Adobe Digital Insights, which tracks online shopping statistics, the earnings achieved in 2009 reached more than 8 times in 2018.
In this context, when we examine the data year by year, we see that 887 million dollars were spent in 2009. In 2010, it exceeded the 1 billion dollar threshold for the first time and earned 1 billion 38 million dollars.
The numbers continued to increase in 2011, reaching up to 1.3 billion dollars. 12.9 percent of the 1.5 billion dollars earned in 2012 consisted of purchases made via mobile devices.
While spending on Cyber Monday increased by 20 percent in 2013, reaching 2.29 billion dollars, a decrease was observed in shopping made within the scope of Black Friday. There was no significant increase in 2014 and the total purchases remained at 2.5 billion dollars.
2015 was marked by discounts on mobile devices. In this way, the total expenditure reached 3.04 billion dollars. In the following years, 5.6 billion dollars were spent in 2016 and 6.59 billion dollars in 2017.
2018 once again broke the record for the highest spending ever made. The balance sheet in 2018 was 7.9 billion dollars. In fact, $2.2 billion of this $7.9 billion was obtained only from smartphone sales.
The impact of mobile technology and social media on Cyber Monday:
The usage rate of social media is increasing every year. One-third of users say they go to the Instagram pages of their favorite stores and review their Cyber Monday campaigns. Twice as many users say they look at reviews before purchasing products.
Stores also started to promote products and campaigns on social media, based on consumers’ social media usage habits. More than half of these stores optimize their websites for mobile use.
Another 20 percent of sellers also optimize their websites for tablet use. Many also use QR codes on billboards and magazines that lead to the product’s sales page.
The impact of internet retailing on retail sales:
The success of online sales may be the end of retailing. On this subject, Mike Ullman, CEO of the US company JC Penney, says: In the next 5 years, only 25 percent of the 1,200 shopping malls in the USA will survive. These will be shopping malls with Apple and Tesla stores.
In 2018, unexpected bankruptcy news began to come from US companies. Companies named Nine West, Claire’s and Toys R Us, which are well known in our country, declared bankruptcy in the first 4 months of the year. In fact, more than 200 stores were closed for this reason.
You need to thoroughly research which sites offer the most discounts under the name of Cyber Monday.
At the end of such days, you need to be careful not to spend more than you planned. Most of the time, we come across statements like “the best discount of the year” or “this discount will not be repeated again”.
At this point, what you need to do to be a conscious consumer is to be aware of the discounts that will be offered in other periods of the year. Before you succumb to your fear of missing out on a good opportunity, you need to carefully consider whether the discount offered is truly a discount that cannot be repeated again.