I recently came across the term “Cyber Monday”. It’s the name used in the States to describe the Monday after Black Friday, which is the the traditional start of the holiday shopping season Stateside. Cyber Monday is based on the assumption that after 3 days plundering the shops like rabid T-Rexes, our US bretheren choose to cyber shop from the comfort of their computer come Monday.

So I decided to research our own pre-Xmas shopping binge habits here on the Emerald Isle.

Using Google Insights for Search and analysing data from Oct, Nov and Dec 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 (Irish data only!), I made to the following fascinating findings as regards searches on Google in Ireland, which include the words “Buy Online”:

1. Sunday was overwhelmingly the biggest day of the week during the research period for Google searches which included “Buy Online”.
2. In each and every year studied, the first Sunday in December was the peak, followed by the last Sunday in November.
3. This year (drumroll), Ireland’s Cyber Sunday will fall on December the 6th. November the 30th will be Cyber Sunday 2.
4. Searches for “Christmas Gift” will grow throughout the first 2 weeks of December and then peak around about the 15th of December (there are no day of the week trends here). This is most likely people researching purchases online prior to consummating them offline.

3 other interesting facts about online shopping in Ireland:

1. In 2008 36% of Irish people made an online purchase. We are ranked 10th in the world for online buyers.
2. 54% of Irish consumers research offline purchases online first.
3. In 2008, only 20% of people said they would not use the internet for Xmas shopping at all.

So online stores, stock your shelves or prepare to drop-ship like Contepomi, Cyber-Sunday is trundling your way!