Cyber Monday...is Really December 10th

Recently there's been a lot of activity regarding "Cyber Monday".  This is supposed to be a major on-line ordering event that would occur on Monday, November 26th.

The theory is that consumers will shop all weekend after Thanksgiving, November 22nd,  then comparison shop and buy on-line.   That's not going to happen.   Shop.org coined the phrase "Cyber Monday" and happens to own the URL "cybermonday.com".  This whole thing was a marketing ploy to get consumers to think that they "had" to order products on-line next week.   I have to give the shop.org folks credit. This thing got some traction.

Here's the Real Deal

The true measure of what's real in the United States relative to online purchasing is with the parcel carriers and the US Postal Service.  USPS, FedEx, DHL and UPS predict that December 17th through the 19th will be the highest volume shipping days.  That means that the week prior is (probably) the real cyber week.   

UPS says December 19th will be its highest volume day of the year with 5.6 million air packages moving.   

FedEx claims it will move an estimated 11.3 million packages through its air and ground networks on December 17th. 5 million of those will move through the FedEx air express network.   

DHL is also predicting Monday, December 17th as their highest volume day with a 50% increase in volume. DHL will add 425 extra flights and an additional 440 truck routes during the peak holiday season. 

The Postal Service is expecting to deliver 20 million pounds of mail to military installations around the world this holiday season. The second week of December should be the busiest week for overseas delivery. Mail to Iraq alone during this period is expected to increase more than 400 percent over the average weekly volume

I want to wish everybody who reads this blog in the United States a happy Thanksgiving holiday this Thursday. Let us pray for peace.

Eric

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Comments

[Eric]

Thanks Sasha, but the shop.org info etc was busted on several sites. I just tied it back to transportation and logistics.

[Sasha Green]

Eric, I vote this particular note for the Snopes award. You know, the website that calls B.S. on all the urban legends.

The first time I heard the term "Cyber Monday" I thought it sounded a little suspect. You've now proved it.

We work with a few of the big box dot coms and they only allow very tight shipping windows...measured in hours, not days, not weeks. No way would they hold orders for 2-3 weeks until the carriers have their Christmas peaks.

Is it Marketing or Manipulation? The Cyber Monday concept really blurs the line between the two.

Good call!