Part of the reason that I am excited about GroupMail Tuesday is that I was often disillusioned when shopping online this holiday season.
Black Friday came, and 10 percent off didn’t do it for me. Cyber Monday rolled in and 20 percent off made me sigh. Green Monday arrived and 30 percent off raised an eyebrow. Where are the big holiday shopping deals?
I think special shopping days like Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Green Monday should knock some real retail off the tag.
That’s what GroupMail Tuesday is about. Offering real discounts for great products.
Come to think about it, I don’t think 40 percent off is so great either…
We had a solid Black Friday and near record-breaking Cyber Monday this year so far in 2009.
What will Green Monday bring?
Green Monday (the second Monday in December) was coined by eBay several years ago; and while it may not be a term as universally recognized as Black Friday or Cyber Monday, it has proved to be one of the biggest online shopping days each year.
* Source: Green Monday vs. Cyber Monday: When Did Holiday Shopping Really Peak? (compete.com)
The online shopping spike each year on Green Monday may result from the fact that it is the last day to order an item online and not have to fork over extra shipping costs to ensure delivery before Santa arrives on midnight on the 25th of December.
The truth is that every day between now and the end of December is a ‘big’ shopping day as far as retailers are concerned. So far, online retailers are faring well. We’ll find out next week if that trend will continue.
Do you have your Green Monday promotions in place?
Sales during this Thanksgiving holiday weekend brought a sigh of relief to some retailers who were anxious about gloomy sales forecasts due to a struggling economy. Preliminary results from several retail reports say:
- 172 million people visited retail stores and websites on Thanksgiving weekend. That’s up from 147 million shoppers last year (National Retail Federation)
- Shoppers spent an average of $372.57 this weekend, up 7.2 percent from last year (National Retail Federation)
- Sales on Black Friday and Saturday rose 1.9 percent from last year, with total sales of $10.6 billion and $6.0 billion respectively (ShopperTrak)
- Sales on Saturday fell .8 percent compared to 2007 (ShopperTrak)
- Sales at US Specialty Apparel retailers improved 1.6 percent from last year (SpendingPulse)
- Sales at US Electronics Specialty retailers fell 14.3 percent (SpendingPulse)
- eCommerce sales rose 11.8 percent (SpendingPulse)
For more information, read Sorting Through Black Friday Data
All eyes are on Black Friday this year. It’s actually exciting. Will the current economic woes spell disaster for this holiday shopping season? Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) is traditionally one of the biggest shopping days of the holiday season. Activity on Black Friday this year could predict the fate of holiday sales for the rest of this holiday season.
Is Black Friday really that big of a deal? According to the amount of websites dedicated to the day, it certainly seems to be. Check out the deals that businesses are offering on Black Friday 2008.
Of course, Cyber Monday (the Monday after Thanksgiving) is the day when many online shoppers take to the Internet to find bargains. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal’s Market Watch:
“…While many consumers (42%) think of Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving, as an online memory-jogger to kick-start their holiday shopping plans, this year many shoppers are viewing Cyber Monday through the lens of a Click ‘n’ Save Day. In fact, more than 8 out of 10 shoppers will be on the look-out for discounts, 69% will be searching for free shipping, 53% will scour the web for one-day promotions and 32% will keep their eyes open for buy-one-get-one-free promotions, according to Shopzilla(R). Cyber Monday has become so famous for its good deals that many consumers prefer waiting until Monday to shop online rather than heading out to the stores for the traditional Black Friday deals…” continue reading
Will the bargains offered during these hot, holiday shopping days be as dramatic as the wall-to-wall coverage of this year’s world economy? If so, we might expect some incredible bargains.
Have you come across any hard-to-refuse bargains that you want to share? Leave a link in the comments of this post to share your holiday bargain finds with others.
Last year, Walmart shoppers did more online shopping on Thanksgiving Day than on Black Friday – the day most often associated with high volume holiday sales. Wal*Mart’s online sales also surpassed Amazon last year. What surprises will this year’s holiday shopping season hold?
A Maritz Research Poll shows that 37 percent of Internet users planned on shopping online on Black Friday last year (the day after Thanksgiving) as opposed to 34 percent the year before – and they spent more last year as well than ever before. For more information, read Black Friday Shoppers Prepare Online
With budget belts tightening this year, we can assume that holiday spending will dip this year – but we will still spend. As a matter of fact, there might be a rise in online shopping as we will all be looking for bargains during this holiday season. It is also likely that more people will shop earlier to spread the costs between November and December this year.
Is your holiday email campaign ready to roll?
