Online shopper's numbers set to rise on Cyber Monday

According to a National Retail Federation survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics over the weekend, more than 131 million (54.8%) shoppers plan to go online for Cyber Monday, up from the 129 million who participated last year.

“Despite record-breaking online shopping Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday, holiday shoppers aren’t done yet; we expect Cyber Monday to be bigger than ever,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay.

When asked how they plan to shop on Cyber Monday, 24.8 million (18.9%) said they will use their mobile device, a 22 percent increase from the 20.4 million last year and a drastic change from only 3.7 million in 2009. Mobile retailing continues to grow every year as consumers increasingly rely on their smartphones and tablets to research and purchase products.

And, retailers are eager to meet consumer demand from these savvy customers as more than half (54.7%) of retailers surveyed in Shop.org’s November eHoliday survey said they invested in optimizing their mobile websites prior to the holiday season.

According to NRF’s Thanksgiving weekend survey results, 42.1 percent of holiday shoppers indicated they shopped online at some point over the weekend, and according to Shop.org’s eHoliday survey, Thanksgiving weekend shoppers had numerous online deals to choose from.

But recently-released data indicates retailers may have saved the best online deals for last: Shop.org’s eHoliday survey found that eight in 10 (81.4%) online retailers will offer specific Cyber Monday deals.

“Regardless of the exciting online promotions we’ve already seen, retailers are prepared to pull out all the stops for their Cyber Monday shoppers,” said Shop.org Executive Director Vicki Cantrell.

“Recognizing that mobile was going to be a big driver of weekend sales, many companies planned well in advance to have their mobile websites and apps cleaned up and their supply chain operations ready for record-breaking digital holiday traffic. We expect to see more focus on mobile as we head into December as companies look for unique ways to compete this holiday season.”

As for when they’ll shop, 43.3 percent of will pounce on Cyber Monday deals first thing in the morning. Others will shop over their lunch hour (19.3%) or early afternoon (33.0%).

“An extremely promotional Thanksgiving weekend got consumers excited about the holiday shopping season and on the lookout for more great deals and prices,” said Prosper’s Consumer Insights Director Pam Goodfellow. “Shoppers are still checking off their gift lists and millions will use Cyber Monday to hunt for remaining items while staying in line with their budgets.”

National Retail Federation