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Cyber Monday: pre-Christmas online retail peak moves a week closer to Christmas

December 10, 2009

‘Cyber Monday’ (December 7th) and Sunday December 6th were the joint busiest days for online retailers so far this year. This means that the pre-Christmas peak in visits to online retailers has moved one week closer to Christmas this year compared to 2008, when the busiest day for online retailers was Sunday November 30th.

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Many industry observers consider ‘Cyber Monday’ to be the busiest day of the year for online retailers, but the Sunday before Cyber Monday is just as important in terms of Internet visits. Consumers spend time browsing and comparing products and prices on the Sunday, before making their actual purchases on Cyber Monday itself. This year, the pre-Christmas online shopping peak moved a week closer to Christmas – over the last couple of years it has been the last Sunday in November rather than the first Sunday or Monday in December. Bargain hunting will almost certainly have played a role, with many consumers leaving it later to order in the hope of finding better deals.

Department stores and supermarkets have been the biggest beneficiaries of the shift towards later online shopping this Christmas. Most of the top 10 websites that experienced the largest increases in visits when comparing this year’s peak in traffic (December 6th) to last year’s (November 30th) were either department stores or supermarkets. Amazon UK experienced the biggest increase in visitors between the two dates, and was joined in the top 10 by high street names including Marks and Spencer, John Lewis and Littlewoods. The popularity of established names and stores with a high street presence the closer we get to Christmas clearly illustrates a preference for multiple delivery and dispatch options.