Does Cyber Monday Carry The Same Weight As Years Past?

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Many shoppers still look forward to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but sales promotions are starting earlier and lasting longer.

That means fewer shoppers were in stores or buying online the weekend after Thanksgiving compared to last year, and analysts expect that to continue on Monday.

Shoppers, like Frank Barevich, say they use online shopping often.

"It's most about convenience and often price as well," he said.

St. Thomas Marketing Professor Jon Seltzer said Sunday that Cyber Monday does not carry the same weight as when the retail industry invented it about 10 years ago. That's when stores saw an unexpected spike in online sales the Monday after Black Friday.

"It was probably fairly attractive early on because more people had access to broadband at work than at home," Seltzer said.

But he said that is not the case anymore since several big stores like Target and Best Buy started cyber sales the weekend after Thanksgiving.

"Retailers have become just as savvy as shoppers have in terms of what are they doing in terms of offering promotions," Seltzer said.

Seltzer said shoppers can expect to see cycles of repeated sales on different items like electronics, toys, and clothing in the weeks leading up to Christmas; an effort to keep shoppers coming back after Cyber Monday.

Seltzer said the best time to buy is when an item falls in a customer's target price range.

While there will likely be better last-minute sales closer to Christmas, he said there is no guarantee as many items will be in stock.