Cyber Monday to test retailers’ e-commerce capabilities

According to Reuters, Cyber Monday is set to bring in $7.8 billion in U.S. online sales, a record number for one of the internet’s largest sale events.

Shoppers intend to scour the web for the best deals and discounts on any product imaginable.

Retail giant Target Corp, for example, is offering deliveries to online customers without minimum purchase requirements in an attempt to get a leg up in the competitive online marketplace.

Shoppers have been bombarded with promotional emails, many complaining that “they woke up to a deluge of cyber Monday emails compared to years past.”

Adobe Analytics, which tracks sales data for many of America’s top online retailers, estimates that companies have accumulated $531 million in online sales so far. These sales numbers are set to hit $7.8 billion by the end of the discount event.

By comparison, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd hit an astounding $30.7 billion in sales earlier this month on Singles Day, an exclusively Chinese shopping event that only happens online.

Back at home, the 75 million estimated online shoppers will put retailers’ online competency to the test. Their ability to manage hundreds of thousands of orders and their respective mail deliveries could push IT departments to a breaking point in worst-case scenarios.

On Black Friday, a few retailers suffered from technical difficulties as shoppers surged their platforms including Lululemon, J. Crew and Lowe’s.

Parents can look forward to cheaper toys, as this product will generally see the heaviest discounts across the board, according to Adobe Analytics. The Toys ‘R’ Us bankruptcy earlier this year created a gap in the market that competitors are seeking to fill. Target and Kohl’s discounted select toy products between 30% and 40%.