After reading up on the spending habits of consumers during the month of December, it has become clear that Cyber Monday (the Monday after Thanksgiving that is famed with having the highest online sales for the year) should more accurately be called Cyber Monday’s in December. It turns out that while Monday is the most popular online shopping day, each Monday in December (including the Monday before Christmas, this year the 21st December) are all significant in terms of generating sales.

As the month progresses, buyers tend to be less concerned with the specific item and more concerned with cost saving – So online businesses with limited stock promotions can still move remaining inventory right up to Christmas. Shipping promotions, too, will help etailers attract visitors, with express delivery giving last-minute shoppers extra peace of mind.

Carol Tice, for Entrepreneur’s “Daily Dose” highlighted another important point for small business retailers to remember:

“I’ve always thought it a funny quirk of our American mindset that news of modest growth such as the NRF forecast depresses retailers. If there’s 2.2 percent growth, that means there will be more sales than last year! Yet all we can do is mope.

The key thing for small businesses to bear in mind is that averages do not have to be your personal reality. A small business represents such a tiny slice of the overall marketplace that your results can vary widely–they could be zero, or this could be your best year ever.” (read full here)

I for one am very optimistic about this year’s performance for small businesses.

What marketing promotions will you be running during the holiday season? Share here and learn from others!