An Online Christmas Carol: Part I

There is so much to tell you, it's hard to find where to start. Start at the beginning? No, I think we'll start with today. Today is Cyber Monday, the latest buzz-phrase hitting commerce news and the online answer to the frantic, good-will-towards-men elbowing and man-handling that occurs on Black Friday, all in the name of a guy who told us to give all our stuff away, not collect more. Ahem. Sorry bout the preachin'. Okay, Cyber Monday it is, then. On iPod shortage, and $400 laptops, they limp back to work on Monday and, with their spreadsheet on toggle, begin perusing online. In fact, 77% of online retailers report a substantial increase in sales the Monday after Thanksgiving. Undoubtedly, the price of gasoline will drive more customers online than ever before, but a few of them will be deterred from brick and mortar establishments after reading this one: In North Dakota, a 17-year-old boy, being one of the first to purchase the console at 12:01 AM Tuesday, found himself Xbox-less one minute later as two assailants punched him in the face and ran off with the goods. Ah, Christmas. Family, homemade candy, eggnog, giving, and a good old-fashioned beat down at the mall. It really shouldn't be all that surprising that the more prudent shopper is staying warm, energized, richer, and safer by becoming a virtual shopper, who can drop by $415 billion holiday spending season that begins November 1st. It was the first day of November this year that US Internet searches on the term [Christmas] jumped 41% over the previous week. During the same week, queries for [Christmas gift ideas], [Christmas gifts], and [Christmas decorations] were up 185%, 92%, and 75% respectively, according to Search Gal informed us last week, Christmas searches are continuing to ramp up.The top Christmas keywords, from Overture, are as follows: christmas 17,556.9/day nightmare before christmas 5,160.3/day christmas decoration 4,684.5 /day christmas card 4,420.9/day christmas gift 3,910.4/day christmas tree 3,665.5/day christmas ornament 3,383.5/day christmas crafts 2,697.2/day christmas light 2,174.6/day christmas song 1,906.9/day Do with this information what you will, and I'll meet up with you tomorrow for Part II.