After spending $1.25 billion two weeks ago on Cyber Monday, shoppers have another shot at breaking records today. Today is Green Monday, a name coined by eBay to describe the second Monday in December. The “green” refers to the cash online retailers expect to see today as holiday shoppers rush to order in time to get their gifts delivered without paying for expedited shipping. Last year, shoppers spent an estimated $954 million on Green Monday.
Online retailers can expect more of today’s customers to use mobile devices to make their Green Monday purchases, based on the trends noted on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. On Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving), mobile sales were 9.8% of total sales, according to IBM’s Smarter Commerce Initiative. On Cyber Monday, mobile sales were 6.6% of total sales, almost triple last year’s level for the same day.
Shoppers are relying on smartphones and tablets even when they have access to a computer. ComScore’s Custom Mobile Retail Advisor Survey found that 56% of respondents who use their smartphone to make purchases do so at home, and 42% use their smartphones to shop at work. Meanwhile 36% of the respondents said they use their smartphone to make a purchase while standing in a store, an uncomfortable finding for brick-and-mortar retailers. Retail analysts say stores that do not have an effective online strategy could run the risk of becoming showrooms for online retailers.
Want your news faster? Follow me on Twitter.
