Walmart and Amazon are offering massive deals to keep Cyber Monday from getting killed
- Walmart and Amazon are both planning to offer a bigger assortment of sales this year for Cyber Monday.
- Some have speculated that Cyber Monday might be losing strength due to online shopping growing on the other days that come before it, like Black Friday and Thanksgiving.
- Retailers are hoping there's enough online spending to go around this year.
Retailers are hoping there's still enough online shopping to go around by the time Monday comes.
Amazon and Walmart, the two largest online sellers in the United States, are both planning on beefing up their online offerings for Cyber Monday.
Walmart announced on Friday that it will be offering more deals than ever on the Monday after Thanksgiving this year. Scott Hilton, chief revenue officer for Walmart US e-commerce, promised "thousands" more deals on Cyber Monday this year when compared with Walmart's deals last year.
Hilton also said that Walmart has prepared more inventory this year on some of the deals it's offering in toys, home, and electronics.
Amazon announced Friday it will start its Cyber Monday Deals Week on Saturday, November 24, lasting through next week. It promised "deeper discounts and even more selection" this year.
Last year, Amazon said Cyber Monday 2017 was its largest single sales day ever. Prime Day in 2018 surpassed it as an event, though that lasted 36 hours, so it's likely Cyber Monday still holds the crown for a single-day event.
Read more: Thanksgiving is killing Black Friday by replacing it
Some experts have questioned how long Cyber Monday can go on as its own event. This Black Friday, online sales are predicted to come in close just shy of last year's Cyber Monday total of $6.6 billion with $6.2 billion for the day, according to Adobe Analytics.
The latest shopping trends, such as the growth of e-commerce, challenge the idea of Black Friday as the day for in-store shopping and Cyber Monday as the time for online shopping. Customers don't look at it that way anymore.
"Significantly early reports of buyer intent shows that 33 percent of US shoppers will mostly or only shop Black Friday online, taking away from some of the Cyber Monday uniqueness," Ray Wimer, an assistant professor of retail practice at Syracuse University, said in an email.
"Furthermore, 54 percent of US shoppers say they are more likely to shop online during Black Friday with the biggest reasons being convenience and simplicity. Again, this would detract from the Cyber Monday event."
Adobe predicts Cyber Monday will pull in $7.8 billion in sales online when all is said and done.
More on Black Friday:
- Shoppers using smartphones under the dinner table have made Thanksgiving one of the biggest days for online shopping
- Thanksgiving has suddenly become one of America's favorite days to shop online
- Walmart is trying desperately to contain the Black Friday chaos by creating what customers are calling a 'maze' - but photos reveal a wild shopping fiasco
- Black Friday deals sold out at stores like Walmart and Target before Friday even began - and people are furious
- This could be the last truly cheap Black Friday, thanks to Trump's trade war