'Cyber Monday' benefits area merchants

TRAVERSE CITY -- Blowing snow and howling wind didn't keep shoppers away from Cherry Republic -- at least the virtual ones.

The holiday shopping event dubbed "Cyber Monday" kept some area merchants busy, even as a paralyzing early-season storm crimped traditional means of commerce following the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

Online orders steadily streamed in at Cherry Republic, a retail shop with outlets in Glen Arbor and Traverse City that features cherry-related products. More than half its mail-order business is conducted on the Web.

"It was tough to get into work today, but once we got here there was plenty to do," said Jon Maue, Cherry Republic's Web and art director. "That's the trend we're seeing in recent years as more people get comfortable with the Internet."

Cyber Monday is a term coined three years ago when online retailers noticed a surge in Web-based shopping on the Monday following Thanksgiving. Since then, retailers have tried to fuel their online sales activity with special promotions and other incentives like free shipping.

Nationally, the number of people who shop on Cyber Monday exploded over the past two years. According to a survey from Shop.org, the amount of online shoppers on the Monday following the Thanksgiving weekend totaled just over 60 million in 2006, but grew to more than 70 million last year. It's projected at almost 85 million this year.

Retailers also are getting more aggressive with online sales and promotions. Another national shopping survey indicated almost 84 percent of retailers featured online promotions or discounts this year, compared to 72 percent last year. In 2007, Cyber Monday generated an estimated $733 million in online sales.

Cherry Republic featured several promotional specials on Monday. But Maue said the best is yet to come.

"It's a good day for us, but it's by no means our largest day," he said. "We'll have much bigger days as we get closer to Christmas."

Local shoppers offered different reasons for shopping online. Sometimes it's for convenience, but for Rich and Kelly Probst it's also about necessity. They shopped in downtown Traverse City Monday while visiting family, but said they're sometimes forced to buy online because they live in a remote part of the western Upper Peninsula.

Photos

Rachel Goodman, left, and Brenda Bush check Internet orders at Cherry Republic's Traverse City store on Cyber Monday. Company officials said the store does about 55 percent of its mail order business through the Internet. Record-Eagle