Cyber Monday Outlook: 19% More Shoppers This Year

A national retail group projects that 96.5 million online shoppers will take to the keyboards on today’s Cyber Monday, up 19 percent from last year.

The survey by shop.org, a unit of the National Retail Federation, is encouraging news for credit card issuers and online retailers. Nearly nine in ten retailers have a special Cyber Monday promotion.

“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 Shop.org.

The majority of Cyber Monday shoppers will do so from living rooms and kitchens – 91.5 percent or 88.2 million Americans. While 13.5 percent, or 13 million people, will shop from work, according to the survey.

“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, Executive Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, 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.”

The Cyber sales projection comes as welcome news for retailers who saw the average spending over the Black Friday weekend drop to $343.31 per person, from $372.57 per person a year ago, according to the NRF. Total spending reached an estimated $41.2 billion.

They spent less, despite an increase in the overall number of shoppers. The NRF’s Black Friday shopping survey, conducted by BIGresearch, showed that 195 million shoppers visited stores and websites over Black Friday weekend, up from 172 million last year.

See related articles:
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Report: Online Sales Average Surged 35% on Black Friday
Cyber Monday Deals Loom Larger This Year for Shoppers