The work day is almost over, but Cyber Monday is in full swing. If you were not already aware, Cyber Monday is the Internet’s answer to Black Friday, the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season. In these economic times, where layoffs and unemployment abound, who isn’t looking to snag the best deals when shopping? Where Black Friday attracts thousands of deal-seeking shoppers the day after Thanksgiving in stores, Cyber Monday provides instant access to hundreds of great offers, right at your fingertips.
The problem with Cyber Monday is that most folks are back at work, with lots of shopping done on-the-clock or as many business owners and CEO’s would probably say: on their dime.
Approximately 106.9 million Americans will be shopping online this Cyber Monday, up from about 96 million last season. That means nearly half of the country will be shopping online, and probably while at work. A large number of people surveyed admitted they will not only be shopping during their lunch breaks, but during prime work hours, meaning productivity at the workplace country-wide, will see a sharp decrease today.
Many business owners that heavily monitor employee internet usage have opted to employ a set time period during this year’s Cyber Monday to have sites that are usually blocked in the office, temporarily unblocked. This gives employees free reign to do all the shopping they want during a short, specified time period.
Given that this year’s numbers show a significant and steady increase in online shopping, next year’s numbers promise to be even higher. With this increase, business owners are going to have to figure out ways to battle the dip in productivity at work on Cyber Mondays while trying to maintain employee morale and happiness.
We would love to hear your stories and or ideas for solutions to this work-place dilemma! Leave a comment or Tweet us @ExecuSearch!
