The Real Cyber Monday

In the last few years, there has been significant hype in the press about the first Monday after Thanksgiving coined "Cyber Monday." Cyber Monday is often thought to be the biggest online shopping day of the year. While Cyber Monday is an extremely popular day to shop online, it's certainly not the best day for most online sellers. Nexternal Solutions, a leading provider of ecommerce software, reported that the second Monday in December (the 11th) proved again to be the most popular day to make purchases online. The aggregate order volume (measured in number of orders) was 61% higher on Monday December 11th than on Monday, November 27th on Nexternal's platform. However, to justify some of the Cyber Monday hype, Nexternal reports that online order volume was 85% higher on Cyber Monday compared to the additionally hyped Black Friday (November 24th).

"The truth of the matter is that people spend much more time on their computers while at work then they do on a weekend or holiday. Like it or not, people are placing orders online when they should be working." says Josh Sebastian of Nexternal Solutions. "The second week in December is really the last week that people will place orders and feel comfortable that their packages arrive by Christmas. Couple that with the pent up demand from not shopping online during the weekend and you have the most popular online shopping day of the year. To capitalize on this information, I am going to recommend that my clients send marketing emails out the morning of Monday December 10th next year."

Nexternal Solutions also reports that the online order volume is up significantly over a year ago. In comparison to the same Monday last year (December 12th 2005), order volume surged 42.6% through Nexternal's ecommerce platform. The average order size (excluding shipping and sales tax) on what Nexternal is calling the "Real Cyber Monday" was $107 compared to $102 in the same period last year. "More and more people continue to realize the benefits and efficiencies of shopping online. This rings extremely true during the holiday season and based on the year-over-year growth, I don't see any signs of a slow down," says Sebastian.

About Nexternal Solutions

Nexternal Solutions, Inc. is a leading provider of web based e-commerce software. Founded in 1999, the company's unique e-commerce system is used by hundreds of clients in many diverse industries. Nexternal's software features an always-on screen shopping cart with integrated marketing and fulfillment tools allowing merchants to maximize revenue while minimizing operating costs. Nexternal's software was rated five out of five stars by Internet.com and is a three time SIIA Codie awards finalist for Best E-Commerce Software. Clients include Alcoa, Hershey, Taser, K2 Sports and Hanes. With locations in Carlsbad, CA and New Canaan, CT, Nexternal provides industry leading customer service. For more information, contact Nexternal Solutions, Inc. CA: 800.914.6161. CT: 866.436.8479. Web: www.nexternal.com



Author Information

ALEX GILE
Nexternal Solutions, Inc.