Comments on: A Proud Supporter of Cyber Monday

By: Marcelo

Marcelo — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 21:46:21 +0000

It was fantastic!!!
We need to do a kind of Cyber Monday here in Brazil.
Those criticism are natural and reveals that Cyber Monday has come to stay.
Hope see it soon…

By: Kelly O'Neill

Kelly O'Neill — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 18:04:38 +0000

Scott, Given my posting on another e-commerce blog, I suppose you could lump me in with “naysayers” you reference in your post! But, in reality, I don’t think all this talk about attacking or defending the notion of Cyber Monday is really the point. The important factor for retailers (and those of us that support them with products and services) is that the holiday season is an increasingly important time for online selling. If the notion of Cyber Monday is a rallying point or a kick start to increased buying online, I’m all for it, whether or not it is actually *the* biggest online shopping day.

By: Alan Rimm-Kaufman | The Rimm-Kaufman Group

Alan Rimm-Kaufman | The Rimm-Kaufman Group — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 02:36:07 +0000

I stand by Scott as a supporter of CyberMonday (CM), but I am troubled by the discounting angle.

When and why did the CM concept morph from

“CM is a really big online sales day (even if not the biggest), which is quite interesting and shows the importance of online retail and is great PR angle”

into

“CM is a really big online sales day, and so it follows we should cut prices”?

My favorite C.M. quote this year was from Bill Bass in Monday’s NYT –

For some online merchants, the idea of Cyber Monday still rings hollow. Bill Bass, the chief executive of Fair Indigo, a seller of fair-trade apparel based in Madison, Wis., said his site would still not offer special price promotions.

“There’s something inherently dishonest about it,” he said. “If you’re giving a promotion now, you’re kind of saying you stuck it to people who bought from you when there wasn’t a promotion.”

Mr. Bass acknowledged that the policy could mean his site would lose sales to retailers that offer Cyber Monday discounts. “If you go down that path, you’re training your customers to expect promotions,” he said.

Like other retailers that rely heavily on catalogs for marketing, Fair Indigo can help encourage earlier holiday shopping by simply mailing catalogs sooner.

Hallelujah, Bill!

CM discounting is a classic economic tragedy of the commons — it hurts us all, but we have to do it because everyone else is doing it.

By: Dave Jenkins

Dave Jenkins — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 20:16:19 +0000

Ah, so you think you coined the phrase “cyber monday”? I hate to burst your bubble, but the term was in use as far back as 1999. I remember specifically reading it numerous places, and even using it in my meetings with clients, way back in the day. Your domain has existed since 1996, but perhaps it belonged to someone else?

By: Heather

Heather — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 20:05:01 +0000

As new ecommerce entreprenuer, I like the term Cyber Monday which generates interest and pr for on-line shopping. This is just a way to denote a kick off for the ON-LINE HOLIDAY SEASON just like Black Friday is the kick off for in store sales. Usually Black Friday is not the biggest shopping day for Holiday In-store sales either but it is the kick-off.

By: Scott Silverman, Executive Director, Shop.org

Scott Silverman, Executive Director, Shop.org — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 18:37:49 +0000

Cheryl – thank your for your suggestion. We’ll take it into consideration.

By: Cheryl Kremkow

Cheryl Kremkow — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 18:31:25 +0000

Scott,
Although I appreciate that the scholarship is a good cause, since the world definitely needs more online retailers, perhaps Shop.org might consider offering retailers who participate a choice of charities to receive what has become significant revenue? How about breast cancer research or Jewelers for Children? Consumers might find Cyber Monday even more compelling if it made a significant contribution to an even worthier cause.

By: Andrew Lipsman, comScore

Andrew Lipsman, comScore — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 17:53:24 +0000

Scott, I think you hit the nail on the head. Cyber Monday is definitely an important landmark that represents the first significant spike in holiday online shopping activity, but it is not the heaviest day of the season. That will happen sometime in mid-December. While Black Friday is heavier than average, it does not historically represent a huge jump in online spending.

To suggest that Cyber Monday is a myth ignores the importance of shopping from work to overall e-commerce spending. (In fact, 60% of spending came from work computers on Cyber Monday this year.) Because of this, online spending is significantly higher on weekdays than on weekends, and Monday and Tuesday tend to be the heaviest spending days of the week. Thus, the first workday after Thanksgiving is bound to see online spending surge, and indeed we see that occur each year.

By: Scott Silverman, Executive Director, Shop.org

Scott Silverman, Executive Director, Shop.org — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 17:39:26 +0000

Mike,
When we asked about CM originally, the 77% were referring to 2004, which was prior to CM being named. So, it was originally a naturally occurring spike. I would expect that this has changed since then as retailers have been so aggressive in featuring CM promotions. The exact phrasing of the question, which was fielded in late September 2005, was “Did your sales increase noticeably LAST YEAR on the Monday AFTER Thanksgiving?” It was a yes or no answer. Of 112 retailers asked, 86 said yes and 26 said no. Based on the phrasing of the question, it’s hard to answer “noticeably to what.” Hope this helps.
-Scott

By: Michael Phillips

Michael Phillips — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 17:24:16 +0000

Hi Scott
I appreciate your comments and perspective. I’m not looking to force your defense of Cyber Monday… just wondering if the question should be about whether C.M. is invented (brought on by individual retailers marketing around that day) vs a naturally occurring spike in shopping that day. So did the 77% of retailers who saw an increase in sales also drive that traffic? Also I’m curious about what retailers understood to be the measure here – sales increased noticeably over what? Sunday? Black Friday? It would be interesting to understand whether people are saying Cyber Monday is the beginning of a holiday plateau. Anyhow – that’s for the focus on this. Good stuff.
- Mike