Cyber Monday Sales Up 15% This Year

Cyber Monday is the internet’s answer to Black Friday (violence not included). While the day after Christmas is the biggest shopping day of the year, with sale upon sale at brick-and-mortar retailers, Cyber Monday is online retailers’ time to shine. According to Marketwatch, preliminary comScore reports state that Cyber Monday sales are up a full 15% over last year.

A Good Sign Or Just Bad News In Disguise?

At first glance, such a large jump in Cyber Monday internet sales coupled with a more modest 3% jump in Black Friday sales seems optimistic. Perhaps consumer spending is more robust than anybody expected and recovery is on the horizon? Unfortunately, that’s not how I see it. The jump in Cyber Monday sales seems mostly due to the internet’s rising market share: people aren’t actually buying more stuff, they’re just buying it online to save money. Similarly, the modest Black Friday increase could be interpreted the same way: consumers got out early in the hope of stretching their Christmas dollar just a bit further. It doesn’t necessarily mean spending will keep up at this pace for the rest of the Christmas season. Only time will tell and I think by Christmas we will have a much clearer picture of just how much trouble we’re in.