Electronics sales expected to do well on Cyber Monday

It’s not just Black Friday when consumers will be shopping for deals. Cyber Monday is a marketing term used by online retailers for the Monday after Thanksgiving in the United States. The term “Cyber Monday” was created to persuade people to shop online.

“Cyber promotion is innovative and effective, as it provides useful and detailed information about the product being sold,” says Barry Nabatian, market research guru at Shore Tanner Associates in Ottawa. “The quality and timing of this type of promotion can make shoppers expedite the timing and/ or the stores at which they shop.

“With promotions like Cyber Monday, businesses can actually increase their sales and market share.”

Cyber Monday is a different way of capturing market share, he says. “Most people only need a certain number of pairs of shoes. If they buy from one store, they won’t buy from another. But stores which are much more active will do better.”

He says that products that are fairly standard do better with cyber selling, such as books, computers, cellphones, televisions – and there are also services provided by companies like Shopify through cyber promotion.

“The nature of cyber advertising is that it appeals to younger people more, especially those in Kanata. They are much more adept at responding to these things. Older shoppers do not respond to electronic promotion as well. When the population is younger, businesses do better if they use cyber advertisements. It’s very complex.”

A lot of retail decision is based on emotional and psychological decision, he says. “However, generally the businesses in the west end are doing the best at cyber selling, in the downtown next, and in the east, third.”

He says that overall, what increases sales for a retailer is increase in population, increase in income and tourism. “The population of Ottawa increases roughly 10,000 people a year. That means they can support the equivalent of one Billings Bridge Shopping Centre equal to about 350,000 square feet.”

New shopping centres have been built to take advantage of Ottawa’s growth. “It’s going to capture some of the sales that would have gone out of town, keeping more of the dollars in Ottawa instead of flight.”

As for cyber retailers doing well, “electronics tend to be No. 1,” he said. “The Source is very good at that. Best Buy, Future Shop, they are all doing well. It’s very natural for them.”