Cyber Monday 2010

In 2010, Cyber Monday takes place on November 29, and it is the biggest online shopping day of the year. On this day buyers are shopping online to take advantage of the deals offered on the web. This year a record breaking one billion dollars was spent online.

Online shopping is generally a greener way to shop, this is due to the fact that trucks can deliver goods efficiently and it takes a lot less energy to run a warehouse for boxes of goods than a mall.

According to a 2007 survey done by Conservation International, more than one-third of consumers indicated they will shop more online and in catalogs to save on gas.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) said that 70.1 million people plan to take advantage of 2010 Cyber Monday deals. The NRF also estimated that 88% of retailers will have special deals. Web retailers offer big discounts, free gift cards, and free shipping in order to entice buyers.

Even prior to Cyber Monday, online shopping was on the increase. On Thanksgiving Day, Paypal showed a 25% increase in 2010 over 2009, and this may be an indication of increases for 2010 Cyber Monday sales.

In the UK, online retailers are bullish about the run up to Christmas with sales estimated to rise to £6.4bn in December, according to IMRG, the e-commerce trade association. Last December, consumers spent £5.5bn online – itself a 17 per cent rise on the year before. The IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index for October revealed the highest October growth since pre-recession levels.

Chris Webster, head of retail consulting and technology at Capgemini said: “The market continues to grow ahead of our expectations and this is a crucial time for e-retailers to beat the competition by using innovative strategies and tactical promotions in the run up to Christmas. The web is consistently seen as the place to go for bargains and retailers with an online presence should use this to their advantage.”

Bjorn Kvarby, European Managing director of Shopping.com, said: “2010 is proving to be an incredible year for online shopping, as consumers begin to realize just how easy, time-efficient, and cost effective it is to find what they are looking for online.

“We’re already predicting overall growth for Shopping.com at 23 per cent for December 2010, year-on-year, and believe it’s going to be a bumper Christmas for the online retail market.”

To shop for products made by companies that manufacture greener products, seeThe Nature Conservancy’s Green Gift Monday site, which is part of a campaign to turn Cyber Monday in a sustainable direction.