Cyber Monday sees record spending

Cyber Monday was a huge success on both sides of the pond, with both US and UK markets seeing record spending online.

In the US, sales jumped 14 percent year-on-year to 490 million dollars between midnight and 10:00, and nearly 3 billions dollars by the end of the day, according to estimates by Adobe Digital Index. In the UK, 980 million pounds was spent on Cyber Monday, with a growth estimated at 34 percent according to Experian-IMRG.

It was no surprise the weekend turned out to be a record-breaking four day online shopping extravaganza. Black Friday came of age as its own online force kickstarting the Christmas selling period. Analysts and surveys mostly got their estimates correct, predicting the event would smash previous records as sales easily topped the 1 billion pound spending barrier.

Websites crashed under e-shopping pressure

Britons were estimated to have spent more than 3 billion pounds online over the three-day weekend and despite promises that retailers were ready for the e-shopping rush, some websites still creaked under the pressure. The figures surpassed expectations, with a record 3,3 billions pounds spent online from Black Friday to Cyber Monday.

James Miller, senior retail consultant at Experian Marketing Services, said: “This weekend has seen record-breaking spend online in the UK, with 3.3 billion pounds spent online across the four days from Black Friday to Cyber Monday. This year retailers have stretched Black Friday and Cyber Monday into a longer period, with many offering deals across the week running up to Black Friday and continuing to reduce more products on Saturday, Sunday and Cyber Monday. In future, this nine day period will become a key phase which very much kick-starts the Christmas shopping season for those relatively well-off families who have busy lives and want to get their purchases in early and delivered before Christmas – retailers will also appreciate the opportunity to spread out the event to maximise their campaigns via email and social media.

“Retailers still have more opportunities to reach customers in the run up to Christmas, with Manic Monday on 7th December representing the time when consumers look to order gifts to ensure they receive them before Christmas, before the traditional Boxing Day sales begin. With logistics companies working hard to fulfil orders placed over the last four days this is a crucial time, with missed deliveries costing both money and consumer patience.”

The news will change how retailers offer promotions during future festive seasons as physical stores did not see the frenzy of 2014 on Black Friday. High street stores were left with unsold stock after shopper numbers fell 4.05 percent, retail analyst FootFall said.

The sales predictions for Manic Monday, 7 December, are estimated to be over 700 million pounds, according to Experian-IMRG.

Image:Cyber Monday