California Business Minute™

Hi, I am Tim Johnson and welcome to the California Business Minute.

Is Cyber Monday gaining steam? According to a recent poll by Maritz, 26 percent of
respondents will shop on Cyber Monday, up from 20 percent in the 2007 Maritz Holiday
Shopping Poll. The poll also revealed that 41 percent of respondents will shop on Black
Friday, slightly higher than the 37 percent that said they were going to shop on the same
day in 2007.

However, marketing research firm comScore, Inc., recently forecast holiday online retail
spending for November and December as “flat” compared to last year, “significantly lower
than last year’s growth rate of 19 percent.”

Gen Y (53 percent) and Gen X (46 percent) are more likely to shop Black Friday sales
compared to Boomers (36 percent) or the Silent Generation (18 percent). Only 10 percent
of the Silent Generation will shop on Cyber Monday, significantly lower than any other
generational group.

"It's good news for retailers that Gen Y hasn't lost its penchant for Black Friday," said Tom
Krause, director of strategic consulting for Maritz Research Retail Group. "This generation
is known for their impulse spending and taste for fashion so they are a great target for retailers
this holiday season. Plus, according to the survey, they are the only generation saying they
will spend the same as last year ($550), rather than cutting back, which could be attributed to
the fact that this particular generation has never really experienced a recession."

But Cyber Monday isn’t the busiest online shopping day of the season. “It really ranks about
fourth or fifth,” said Peters of Internet Retailer. “Usually Dec. 12 to 15 are the heaviest days,”
and this year, Dec. 15 may be the peak day.  Why? “It’s partly just people procrastinating,” he
said. “And, as people have become more comfortable shopping online, knowing they’ll get their
products delivered in time that date has moved back. Years ago, it was around Dec. 7 or 8.”

I am Tim Johnson and this has been the California Business Minute.