Almost 100 Million Will Shop Online Today: Shop.org
Nearly 100 million online shoppers are expected to visit e-retailers today, and many will take care of their holiday purchasing during business hours, according to a survey conducted for Shop.org by BIGresearch.
“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 Washington-based 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 Web sites, and a lot of free shipping.”
The research found that more than 96.5 million Americans plan to shop on Cyber Monday this year, up from 85 million in 2008, and 91.5 percent of these shoppers — or 88.2 million Americans — will shop from home, 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 the number of Americans with high-speed Internet at home increases, fewer people feel the need to shop online from work,” said Phil Rist, EVP, strategic initiatives at Worthington, Ohio-based 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.”
And shoppers are even going mobile — 3.8 percent of Cyber Monday shoppers will shop from a mobile device like an iPhone or a Blackberry, and a small fraction of shoppers (1.5 percent) said they would shop from another location like a coffee shop or a friend’s house.
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 plan to hit the Web early in the morning, with nearly as many (38 percent) planning to shop in the late morning. In addition, one-third of Cyber Monday shoppers (32.9 percent) will shop in the early evening or late evening (22.7 percent).
“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 Washington-based 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 Web sites, and a lot of free shipping.”
The research found that more than 96.5 million Americans plan to shop on Cyber Monday this year, up from 85 million in 2008, and 91.5 percent of these shoppers — or 88.2 million Americans — will shop from home, 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 the number of Americans with high-speed Internet at home increases, fewer people feel the need to shop online from work,” said Phil Rist, EVP, strategic initiatives at Worthington, Ohio-based 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.”
And shoppers are even going mobile — 3.8 percent of Cyber Monday shoppers will shop from a mobile device like an iPhone or a Blackberry, and a small fraction of shoppers (1.5 percent) said they would shop from another location like a coffee shop or a friend’s house.
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 plan to hit the Web early in the morning, with nearly as many (38 percent) planning to shop in the late morning. In addition, one-third of Cyber Monday shoppers (32.9 percent) will shop in the early evening or late evening (22.7 percent).