Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving in the United States is historically one of the busiest retail shopping days of the year. Retailers will open early and usually offer significant discounts. The origin of the name, Black Friday comes from the retailer’s shift to prosperity during the holiday season. Back in the day when accounting records were kept by hand, red ink indicated financial loss while black ink indicated profit.

How does Black Friday Effect Internet Sales? Some websites will allow shoppers to plan out their bargain shopping early, and they will permit consumers time to do product research.

However, data indicates that people are far more excited about Cyber Monday. The term Cyber Monday refers to the Monday immediately following Black Friday (December 1, this year). It symbolizes a busy day for online retailers. The premise was that consumers would return to their offices after the Black Friday weekend, making purchases online they were not able to complete in stores.

According to Shopzilla, about 42% of consumers think of Cyber Monday as an online reminder to begin their holiday shopping plans; 8 out of 10 will be searching for discounts; 69% will explore free shipping; 53% will seek the web for one-day promotions; and 32% will look for buy-one-get-one-free promotions.

This is why Cyber Monday is essential to your business even if you do not see direct sales from it. It is a chance for you to get your brand recognized; call out special holiday deals; highlight lower-priced items when possible; stress the ease and convenience online shopping offers; and most importantly remain in the mind of your shoppers.

The term Cyber Monday was coined by Shop.org, who developed CyberMonday.com where, on Cyber Monday, online shoppers have access to products of nearly 400 online retailers, who are offering special promotions. Proceeds collected by CyberMonday.com will be donated to the Shop.org scholarship program for students studying eCommerce.

For retailers, it seems, the internet is becoming an incredibly powerful way to market and sell their products. Companies have come to understand that, even for those individuals who prefer to purchase their gifts in stores, the internet can still be a great tool. Online retailers generally offer information along with high-resolution images of their products so that consumers can research them and make purchasing decisions before heading out to shop.

Cyber Monday shoppers were more satisfied with their online experience in 2007 than they were in 2006; according to a new study from leading online customer satisfaction measurement firm ForeSee Results.

“The increase in customer satisfaction during Cyber Monday bodes well for sales during the holiday season and during the rest of the year, because satisfaction is a proven predictor of sales, financial performance, and word of mouth recommendations,” said Larry Freed, President and CEO of ForeSee Results. “Online retailers seem to be figuring out how to maximize the value of the increased traffic they see during the holidays, starting with Cyber Monday.”

*Did You Know – Prestige Technologies can build, secure, and host your shopping cart.

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