Cyber Monday - many shoppers have been looking forward to the online holiday, thanks to many deals being offered. This year's Cyber Monday is set to break the record for the biggest online shopping day in U.S. history, with Americans expected to spend $7.8 billion.
That amount exceeds last year's Cyber Monday total by 18 percent and is around $1.5 billion more than what Americans spent online during Black Friday. Many people, like college students, say that the convenience of shopping online is a big pull to joining in for this year's Cyber Monday.
"There’s not a lot close by, and a lot of the bigger brands or stores that are bigger cities that you can’t really find here in Ada - so it’s definitely easier as a college student to go online," said Kelleigh Pier.
"I’m not a big fan of driving an hour to go to Best Buy to see if they may or may not actually have what I want," said Troy Wagner.
So with so many people opting to stay in and order online, is that making an impact on how the retail industry has been traditionally run? Ohio Northern University Dean of Business John Navin says it has, and changing with the times is the key for companies to stay afloat.
"A lot of those what we would called traditional brick-and-mortar retailers realize that online is where they have to be now - it’s all about innovation, making yourself accessible, and it’s not just Cyber Monday on the traditional computer now - everyone has their phones, so all the websites have to be set up for the phones and be phone-compliant," said Navin. "It’s just a really complicated and efficient retail model."
According to a survey done by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights and Analytics, an estimated 164 million people planned to shop from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday this year.
