Cyber Monday (Nov. 26) will celebrate its seventh anniversary in 2012, and consumer motivation for shopping on the day synonymous with the best online deals continues to grow in popularity, according to a survey from PriceGrabber.com.
Asked to select which days they plan to shop over the Thanksgiving weekend (choosing as many of the four days), 41% of surveyed consumers cited Cyber Monday, up from 37% in 2011 and 33% in 2010.
Moreover, asked whether they planned to shop more on Cyber Monday vs. Black Friday (Nov. 23) this year, 58% of those Cyber-Monday shoppers said they planned to shop more on Cyber Monday.
Below, additional findings from PriceGrabber's Winter Holiday Shopping Survey.
Discounts and Free Shipping
Most Cyber-Monday shoppers expect to find deals, citing the following as the top reasons they shop on Cyber Monday:
- Take advantage of one-day deals, discounts, and free-shipping offers: 84%
- Buy on Cyber Monday after looking for sales during Black Friday weekend: 31%
- Get holiday shopping done early: 29%
- Spend Black Friday weekend speaking with friends and family about their gift lists: 12%
- Cyber Monday is a tradition with family and friends: 7%
Shopping Early for the Best Deals
The (very) early bird gets the worm. Cyber-Monday shoppers cite the following as the times they're most likely to shop on Cyber Monday:
- Early morning (5 a.m. to 8:59 a.m.): 30%
- Late morning (9 a.m. to 11:59 a.m.): 29%
- Evening (7 p.m. to 12 a.m.): 17%
- Afternoon (12 p.m. to 4:59 p.m.): 15%
- Early evening (5 p.m. to 6:59 p.m.): 9%
Also, most (83%) people who plan to shop on Cyber Monday say they'll do so from home, 11% plan to shop from work, and 6% plan to shop via mobile device (that's up from 4% who said so in 2011).
Clothing and Consumer Electronics Top Gift Lists
Among Cyber-Monday shoppers, clothing (53%) is the most popular item this year, followed by consumer electronics (47%), computer-related equipment and devices (43%), and books, CDs, DVDs or video games (43%).
"Industry forecasts predict growth in online holiday sales this season, and our survey data is in line with this trend, revealing strong consumer interest in online shopping on Cyber Monday to take advantage of retailer incentives," said Rojeh Avanesian, vice president of marketing and analytics of PriceGrabber.com.
"While most consumers plan to shop from a home computer on Cyber Monday, we anticipate that mobile shopping will continue to gain momentum, allowing even busy commuters to make the most of what retailers are sure to offer on Cyber Monday."
About the data: PriceGrabber's third winter holiday shopping survey polled 4,958 US online shopping consumers, Oct. 1-24, 2012.
