Cyber 5 — the days from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday — remain a crucial period for holiday sales, but the holiday season isn’t just about shopping. Giving Tuesday is rising in prominence, especially as customers respond well to brands that have a strong philanthropic mission. We may see the ever-expanding Cyber 5 evolve into a Cyber 6 weekend in the future. A Cyber 6 weekend would encompass the days from Thanksgiving to Giving Tuesday and promote high online activity that champions gifting and giving.

So What Is Cyber 6?

Cyber 6 may be the next evolution of Cyber 5, expanding the gifting and giving blitz throughout Giving Tuesday. Adding Giving Tuesday to the Cyber 5 weekend will help promote the holiday spirit of sharing joy and compassion for all those around us.

The 2021 holiday season requires a unique strategy in and of itself. However, changes in promotions can be welcomed by customers. Heavy discounts are no longer the only avenue to winning and engaging new customers throughout Cyber 5. We have advised some clients to release new products exclusively on Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Giving Tuesday. On Giving Tuesday, many companies are promoting charity items, of which a portion of proceeds will go to helping others.

Including your customers in promotions (such as letting them vote for the charity you donate to or matching their donations to a specific charity) can go a long way to making the holiday shopping season about more than just a good deal.

Leverage Giving Tuesday’s online traffic to talk about your brand’s own philanthropic efforts and showcase how you give back to the community all year long. 

How the Cyber 5 Weekend Has Evolved

Cyber 5 has been a mainstay in holiday shopping for the past few years, but it continues to evolve in line with the changing e-commerce space, as well as cultural and societal developments. 

Stores used to open early on Thanksgiving. Since the start of the pandemic, more retailers are staying closed on the holiday to allow employees to spend more time with their loved ones. Just days ago, Target announced that it will never again open on Thanksgiving.

Black Friday has expanded beyond a one-day in-store doorbuster frenzy. Now, brands promote early Black Friday deals, with some having teased sales as early as October. Brands promote a myriad of different sales culminating in Black Friday — but even so, Black Friday isn’t always the day of the deepest discounts. Brands have started leveraging lower shipping minimum, limited-time products, and lightning deals on different categories to keep customers clicking and shopping.

Cyber Monday is relatively new, first coined in 2005 as noted by the New York Times. During that time, people typically had a more reliable and faster internet connection in their office than in their homes, so they took the Monday back to work after the holiday to shop online. Nowadays, we don’t rely on our offices for a high-speed connection, but the idea of snagging online sales persists.

What Is Giving Tuesday?

Giving Tuesday is a day dedicated to easing the suffering of others through acts of generosity and kindness. Giving Tuesday started in 2012 as a means to encourage people to do good. These acts of kindness can range from “making someone smile, helping a neighbor or stranger out, showing up for an issue or people we care about, or giving some of what we have to those who need our help,” according to the nonprofit that champions the Giving Tuesday movement.

In a crowded e-commerce space, customers are expecting more from their favorite brands. To earn customer loyalty, companies are committing to values such as sustainability, philanthropy, and giving back to the community, rather than expecting to gain a following exclusively from discounted prices and quality products. Participating in Giving Tuesday is a great way for brands to stand for a social cause larger than themselves and get their customers involved.

Further Insights

We saw a slower-than-anticipated Black Friday this year. Keep up-to-date with the latest Cyber 5 (or Cyber 6) insights with NetElixir. Join our annual Cyber 5 Webinar: Results. Trends. Insights. To learn how your brand’s results compared to your competitors and industry trends. We’ll dive into what these trends mean for the rest of the holiday season and share insights into:

• The search-shop-buy behavior of your holiday shoppers
• Time of day when customers were most likely to complete a purchase
• The role of mobile over the Cyber 5 weekend

Don’t miss out on last-minute holiday tips!

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