More than 126 Million Holiday Shoppers to Shop Online on Cyber Monday

Keenly aware that retailers during the holiday season offer deep discounts on everything from pajamas to home furnishing items, online holiday shoppers this year may wait to see what retailers have planned for Cyber Monday before deciding to shop.

According to the National Retail Federation’s Cyber Monday Expectations Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics over the weekend, 126.9 million (52.3%) shoppers plan to shop online on Cyber Monday, down slightly from the 131.6 million who planned to participate last year.

“For today’s shopper, every day is ‘Cyber Monday,’ and consumers want and expect great deals, especially online, throughout the entire holiday season – and they know retailers will deliver,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. “Retailers will still offer unique deals exclusive to Cyber Monday, but consumers also know shopping on Cyber Monday won’t be their last chance to find low prices and exclusive promotions.”

When asked how they plan to shop on Cyber Monday, 24.5 million (19.3%) said they will use their mobile device, and eight in 10 (84.5%) will use their home computers to shop online.

Mobile retailing remains important as consumers increasingly rely on their smartphones and tablets to research and purchase products. And, retailers are eager to meet consumer demand from these savvy customers as nearly seven in 10 (69.1%) retailers polled in Shop.org’s July eHoliday survey said they invested in optimizing their mobile websites prior to the holiday season, up from the 57.4 percent who said so last year.

Omni-Channel Commerce Brings Order Management to the Forefront

With the disappearance of these traditional channels, it has become clear that a centralized “brain” is critical to omnichannel success. In the retail industry, Order Management has become the new buzzword as the key enabler for this holistic commerce strategy.

At its most basic level, the foundation for retail order management plays three critical roles:

It connects demand to supply. That is, retailers can present their inventory to buyers across all sales channels - accurately and in a timely fashion.
It routes orders to the right supply source (following retail-optimizing sourcing rules).
It facilitates delivery of orders by putting purpose-built tools in front of the store associates, drop-shippers, or those responsible for fulfillment. (A key consideration is seamlessly integrating these functions into the retailers’ existing tools.)

Robust order and inventory management are the brains of commerce technologies, bringing information and intelligence to connect supply and demand.

Additionally, the latest Shop.org’s eHoliday survey found that 97.6 percent of online retailers polled say they will offer specific Cyber Monday deals.

“Retailers are taking on the growing demand of online shopping and doing what it takes to compete on every level, including mobile optimization of their websites and unique in-store experiences that marry the two channels more than ever before,” said NRF Senior Vice President and Shop.org Executive Director Vicki Cantrell. “Retailers have made the online shopping experience even more compelling this year by offering free shipping deals, low prices and enhanced buy online, pick up in-store programs.”

As for when they’ll shop, 40.8 percent of shoppers will be up bright and early on Cyber Monday to take advantage of the early morning deals. Others will shop over their lunch hour (18.4%) or early afternoon (32.5%).

“Shoppers have been taking advantage of discounts throughout the entire holiday weekend and will still look for ways to capitalize on Cyber Monday as well,” said Prosper’s Principal Analyst Pam Goodfellow. “The convenience of shopping online and finding great prices and shipping promotions every day has changed how shoppers will approach their holiday shopping lists this year, but it’s safe to say millions will still expect some of the season’s best deals on Cyber Monday.”

It’s an omni-channel world after all. Retailers and manufacturers alike are feeling the pressure to deliver anything, anytime, from anywhere - and the momentum to improve service levels is only building.

Join us for this exclusive virtual conference as we put the impact of omni-channel fulfillment into perspective by taking a look at how supply chain organizations have had to transform their transportation management, re-think their distribution processes, and apply software, systems, and technology to meet new customer expectations in this competitive environment.

Attend one, two or all of these information packed sessions:

Omni-Channel Trends The Future is Now (Keynote)
The Importance of Transportation Management Systems (TMS) in Omni-Channel Fulfillment
Creating the mobile supply chain: The role mobility plays in omni-channel fulfillment
Understanding “dimensional pricing”
What it takes to be an omni-channel fulfillment distribution center
Optimizing your 3PL relationship in an omni-channel world

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