Is Cyber Monday the Gift that Keeps on Giving?

If your virtual cash register is ringing up sales faster than you can say, "Yes, Virginia, there is a Cyber Monday," — and even if it's not — brace yourself for more Monday merry-making to come.

Cyber Monday is a sales phenomenon that keeps on giving the whole month of December, according to data by DoubleClick Performics, the performance marketing division of DoubleClick Inc.

"The peaks and valleys of consumer shopping behavior during the holidays are filled with misconception among marketers and the general business community. The National Retail Federation originally coined the term Cyber Monday for the Monday following Thanksgiving.

"This helped the industry understand that, while Black Friday is the biggest offline shopping day of the year, the following Monday brought much greater online sales volume, but they only scratched the surface with this finding. It's more than just one Monday; it's a Cyber Monday phenomenon, and the Monday following Thanksgiving tends to pale in comparison to the others that follow," says Stuart Larkins, vice president of search for DoubleClick Performics.

The Performics data illustrates year-to-year seasonal patterns as well as intra-week patterns, each with merchandising implications for Web shop owners. In 2006, for example, the third Cyber Monday was the peak day of the season for DoubleClick Performics clients, according to the company.

This year brings an early Thanksgiving, a Tuesday Christmas and an extra Monday. With a fifth Cyber Monday in 2007, the fourth could turn out to be the peak of the season. Black Friday, on the other hand, does not even rank in the top 10 online sales days, according to Performics.

The data also sheds light on consumer shopping behavior within any holiday season week. Most offline holiday shopping happens on the weekends, but not everyone actually buys in the stores, according to the report. Many go online Monday to purchase what they did not find over the weekend, price check with competitors and pursue deep online discounts and deals. This explains the light online sales over the weekend, the company says, and the Monday surge.

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