14 DAY TRIAL // I warned you on Friday that "Cyber Monday" is going to be "teh realz0rz dealz0rz" (I hope I got that right, I'm not really using this kind of talk) when it comes down to e-commerce and that it will most likely explode in the face of those who said it would be a failure based on the numbers and statistics from November 1st and up to the middle of the month.
?and I was right (I usually am, so don't worry, I can handle it, I've had previous experience with dealing with a prediction's success)! It turned out to be surprisingly successful even for me. It had a good kick start, with figures like 272 million USD spent on Thanksgiving and 531 million USD the very next day, according to comScore. That's an increase of 29 percent and 22 percent, respectively, compared to last year's numbers for the same days.
Price comparison shopping sites have also satisfyingly observed a huge increase compared to the previous year, PriceGrabber.com with 47 percent and Shopping.com with an increase of 61 percent.
The most sought after items that filled the online shopping carts were obviously gifts for the kids and teenagers (and I say obviously because that is the age at which some still believe in Santa Claus coming down the chimney with too amazing athletic skills for his weight and leaving presents under the fir tree or in the socks hung on the fireplace. If I were Santa, I would sue if I ever heard somebody saying that's the way I entered a home, on the basis that I do not break an entering and that I am respectable in my red YMCA looking and feeling pants and should not be subject to such calumnies). As a result of this, the hottest category was video games, with sales up to 134%. Gadgets came in second, especially the Zune music player from Microsoft.
The sites were swamped and traffic was slowed down, but eventually they pulled through and shopping went on without a problem. What's the figure for this Monday? Just a little over 700 million USD, numbers haven't come in from all over the country to be able to give a more precise answer. But that IS enough.