Cyber Monday expected to draw fewer shoppers this year
Items are sorted into crates to be sent to retail stores from the Argos Distribution Centre in Burton-upon-Trent, central England, on Nov. 27, 2015. British retail stores have ramped up their operations to coincide with two sales events, Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Credit: Getty Images / Paul Ellis
More than 121 million consumers plan to shop online Monday, Cyber Monday, an estimated drop of more than 4.6 percent, the result of online offers starting earlier in the month and over Thanksgiving weekend, according to a national retail group.
Last year, 126.9 million planned to shop online on Cyber Monday. But the National Retail Federation survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics showed that 103 million people already shopped online over the Thanksgiving weekend.
"Unlike 10 years ago, we live in a world in which you can shop anywhere at any time," NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay said in a statement Sunday. "It's no longer about one day, but a season of digital deals, and savvy online shoppers are ready to see what exclusive promotions retailers have in store for Cyber Monday before they check out."
Even with the projected drop in shoppers, total online sales for Cyber Monday are forecast to hit the $3 billion mark for the first time, an increase of 12 percent compared with last year, according to digital marketing research firm Adobe Digital Index.
About 29.6 million consumers are expected to use a mobile device for Cyber Monday, up from 24.4 million last year. Still, eight in 10 shoppers will use computers, according to the NRF.
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