With Thanksgiving falling late in November, consumers will start shopping prior to so-called Black Friday and Cyber Monday, according to Experian’s data analysis. Those days mark the start of the Holiday shopping season.
The findings align with last year’s purchase activity. In 2008, when Thanksgiving fell later in the month, online purchase activity occurred several weeks prior to Black Friday.
Experian also expects e-mail volumes will increase 30% on Black Friday and Cyber Monday compared with last year. The data company said that increase is dependent on how strong sales are by the end of November. If sales are low by month’s end, there is a chance companies will react by increasing volume, Experian found.
Volume of email sent by Experian CheetahMail on Black Friday increased 64% from 2007 to 2008 and 40% on Cyber Monday from 2007 to 2008.
In addition online searches including the term “Black Friday” in the query have increased in the past three years. Searches using the term increased 41% compared with last year. Black Friday searches began in August. Mentions of Black Friday and Cyber Monday in e-mail campaigns are expected to be more prevalent this year.
