Retailers spend a lot of time and money building up excitement for today’s big Cyber Monday holiday shopping events. Their websites and online, TV and newspaper ads shout about “doorbusters”; #cybermonday and related hashtags are baked into their Twitter posts; emails go out to past customers offering them additional discounts for stopping by again; and their Facebook pages tantalize with the promise of gift cards or coupon codes.
Last year, U.S. online sales on Cyber Monday were $7.9 billion, with a growing share coming from mobile transactions. This year Cyber Monday is expected to set a new record as the largest — and fastest-growing — online shopping day of the year with $9.4 billion in projected sales. More than 50 percent of people will rely on Cyber Monday for discount purchases vs. 44 percent who rely on Black Friday.
That’s a lot of shopping, and a lot of people logging in to get the deals.