Nearly 100 Million Shoppers Expected on Cyber Monday

Washington, November 29, 2009—As online retailers put the finishing touches on Cyber Monday promotions, the number of people who plan to shop on the Monday after Thanksgiving may surpass even their highest expectations. According to a survey conducted for Shop.org by BIGresearch, 96.5 million Americans plan to shop on Cyber Monday this year, up from 85 million in 2008.

“Americans appreciate the convenience of shopping online, which doesn’t require standing in line, circling for a parking spot, or even changing out of your pajamas,” said Scott Silverman, Executive Director of Shop.org. “Online retailers have been working overtime to make sure their Cyber Monday promotions are enticing, so shoppers can expect incredible bargains on popular holiday items, percentages off entire websites, and a lot of free shipping.”

A survey released last week found that nearly nine in ten (87.1%) retailers will have a special promotion for Cyber Monday, up from 83.7 percent last year and 72.2 percent in 2007. The most popular promotions are expected to be specific deals (42.9%), one-day sales (32.9%), and free shipping on all purchases (15.7%). Half of retailers (50.0%) will distribute promotions and deals to shoppers through a special Cyber Monday email.

While some Cyber Monday shoppers will choose to shop from the office, the large majority will shop from living rooms and kitchens all across the country.* According to the survey, 91.5 percent of Cyber Monday shoppers – or 88.2 million Americans – will shop from home on Cyber Monday while 13.5 percent, or 13 million people, will shop from work. (A Shop.org/BIGresearch survey released last week estimated that 69 million Americans would shop from work at some point during the holiday season.)

As Americans embrace the latest technology, 3.8 percent of Cyber Monday shoppers will shop from a mobile device like an iPhone or a Blackberry. In addition, a small fraction of shoppers (1.5%) said they will shop from another location like a coffee shop or a friend’s house.

“As the number of Americans with high-speed internet at home increases, fewer people feel the need to shop online from work,” said Phil Rist, Executive Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, BIGresearch. “While many companies don’t mind employees shopping online over their lunch hours, high unemployment and concerns over job security may cause more people to shop this Cyber Monday from the comforts of their own home.”

While many retailers expect to see sales and traffic spike over lunch hours, Cyber Monday shoppers plan to go online throughout the day. According to the survey, 41.5 percent of Cyber Monday shoppers plan to hit the web early in the morning, with nearly as many (38.0%) planning to shop late morning. In addition, one-third of Cyber Monday shoppers (32.9%) will shop in the early evening or late evening (22.7%).

Shop.org Reveals Retailers Participating in CyberMonday.com Deals of the Hour

Shop.org’s CyberMonday.com, which features holiday promotions and special savings from more than 700 retailers, was created by retailers as a one-stop shop for consumers looking for the best Cyber Monday promotions.

In addition to hundreds of special offers, some of which will be exclusive promotions available only on the site, CyberMonday.com will be featuring a Deal of the Hour on its front page tomorrow, highlighting a different retail promotion every 60 minutes. Retailers participating in the Cyber Monday Deal of the Hour include Sears, Borders, The Home Depot and Red Envelope. (Click here for the full list of companies and times.) Offers will include free shipping specials, dollars off, percentages off, and free gifts with purchase.

In addition, CyberMonday.com will be distributing $250 in gift cards from major retailers each day through Dec. 25 to its fans on Facebook and followers on Twitter.

All CyberMonday.com proceeds received by Shop.org benefit its Ray M. Greenly Scholarship Fund, which helps students pursuing careers in retail. Ray Greenly was a Vice President at Shop.org before passing away from cancer in 2005. More than $900,000 has been raised for the scholarship fund through CyberMonday.com.

About the Surveys

The survey, conducted Nov. 26-28, 2009 by BIGresearch for Shop.org, polled 4,985 consumers and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.4%.

Cyber Monday, a term coined by Shop.org in 2005, began after retailers noticed a trend of people shopping online on the Monday after Thanksgiving. Today, Cyber Monday is viewed as the ceremonial kickoff to the online holiday shopping season, when shoppers flood websites expecting robust promotions and many retailers highlight some of their most compelling holiday offers.

BIGresearch is a consumer market intelligence firm that provides unique consumer insights that are gathered online utilizing very large sample sizes. BIGresearch’s syndicated Consumer Intentions and Actions survey monitors the pulse of more than 8,000 consumers each month to empower its clients with unique insights for identifying opportunities in a fragmented and changing marketplace.

Shop.org, a division of the National Retail Federation, is the world's leading membership community for digital retail. Founded in 1996, Shop.org's 600 members include the 10 largest retailers in the U.S. and more than 60 percent of the Internet Retailer Top 100 E-Retailers. It's where the best retail minds come together to gain the insight, knowledge and intelligence to make smarter, more informed decisions in the evolving world of the Internet and multichannel retailing. Shop.org programs and activities include benchmarking research, events and networking communities.

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*This is the first year Shop.org has asked people from where they plan to shop on Cyber Monday; therefore, historical data is not available.