Now that we've survived another Black Friday, there are only hours to recover before the next big shopping holiday of the year, Cyber Monday. The upcoming online bargain day differs from its older sibling in several ways, including more online sales but fewer consumers using mobile devices to do their buying.
One of the most obvious differences between the two days is that Black Friday takes place during a holiday weekend that, in 24 U.S. states, actually includes the Friday after Thanksgiving as a public holiday. Though the day is not a federal holiday, even in the other 26 states, many Americans take the day off to enjoy a four-day weekend. That enables them to potentially visit stores in person, causing the huge crowds and general shopping pandemonium the day is famous for. By Cyber Monday, most people are back on the job, but that doesn't stop them from shopping for the tremendous deals available online.
In fact, Cyber Monday actually eclipses Black Friday in online sales, making it the biggest online shopping day of the year. Cyber Monday online sales are expected to reach $3 billion this year, as opposed to $2.7 billion on Black Friday, and $1.6 billion on Thanksgiving. Interestingly, both Cyber Monday and Black Friday see less shopping activity from consumer mobile devices than Thanksgiving.
This year, online shopping on Thanksgiving via mobile devices was expected to hit record highs of 29 percent of all online sales for the day, but both Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping via mobile is considerably less. That's probably because many consumers are travelling or visiting the homes of friends and family on Thanksgiving Day, and aren't at home or at work where they can use their traditional computers.
Cyber Monday also has fewer ads by retailers touting the holiday as compared to Black Friday, certainly in part due to the short window between the two holidays. Also, the highly promoted "doorbusters" that are heavily hyped for Black Friday don't technically exist on Cyber Monday, as it is an online shopping event. That doesn't stop some retailers, however, from offering metaphorical "doorbusters" for Internet shopping early birds.
Finally, the types of goods on the best sales are traditionally different on each day. Buyers of technology and electronic items actually have better sale options on Thanksgiving and Black Friday, while bargains on soft goods, such as clothing, shoes and beauty products shine on Cyber Monday. This is a generalization, however, and there are still some great deals on technology, electronics and all product categories to be found on Cyber Monday as well.
