There's No Place Like Home for the Holiday (Shopping); CouponCabin, other online venues see huge increases in traffic on Black Friday and Cyber Monday

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 29, 2005--In retail circles, Black Friday - the Friday after Thanksgiving - has always been considered the key indicator of prospects for the all-important holiday shopping season. Like the opening bell of the stock market, it begins the rush of activity that traditionally accounts for a major percentage of retail revenues for the year.


This year, however, Black Friday had a decidedly different look. While still a heavy activity day, more of those purchases were being made from the kitchen table as shoppers eschewed the crowds in favor of hunting for bargains online. According to ShopperTrak RCT, in-store sales on Black Friday dropped slightly, from $13.8 billion in 2004 to $13.4 billion in 2005, while Nielsen/NetRatings said unique visitors to online shopping-related sites rose from 13.3 million to 17.2 million over the same period.

One site that benefited from this shift over the weekend was CouponCabin (www.couponcabin.com), an online coupon service that helps shoppers navigate the mysterious world of coupon codes that provide additional savings. On Black Friday alone, CouponCabin experienced 105 percent growth over the same day in 2004, averaging 2,600 coupons or offers clicked per hour in 2005. Even more telling, perhaps, that number jumped to 4,092 coupons or offers per hour on Cyber Monday, so-called because of the increase of activity as online shoppers return to work after the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend. That number represents a 226 percent growth in unique visitors over 2004.

"There are a number of hard and soft reasons for this increase in online activity," said Scott Kluth, founder of CouponCabin. "Significantly higher gas prices this year and a disdain for crowds are certainly among them. But both retailers and consumers have become more savvy about online shopping too. Online-only discounts, free shipping to friends and relatives across the country and the ability to compare features and prices quickly are all enticing shoppers to check online before they brave the local malls. Many are finding they can get the bulk of it done before they get dressed for the day."

Kluth should know. His CouponCabin site collects online offers from more than 800 general and specialty merchandise retailers in order to help shoppers find the best deals. He likens it to the Sunday newspaper, where circulars from a variety of retailers make it easy to go through offers, get ideas, and compare. The difference, he says, is that the online coupons he shows are far easier to sort and search through - and once consumers find a deal they like, they can go directly to the store's Web site to take advantage of it.

Shoppers like CouponCabin because it helps them take advantage of special offers they often didn't know existed.

"When I would shop online, sometimes I would see a box that said 'enter promotional code here,' but I didn't know where to find the code," said Pattie Krause, a project manager from Mundelein, Illinois. "CouponCabin shows me what deals are available from which retailers, so I can take advantage of offers I was missing out on before. And if I start on the retailer's site, I can always check back at CouponCabin before making the purchase, just to be sure I don't pay more than I have to."

Forrester Research is predicting that total online holiday sales will hit $18 billion in 2005, a 25 percent increase over 2004. Included in that prediction is an expectation that 2.5 million new households will join the movement to online shopping.

"While it's gratifying to see the growth, we've still only scratched the surface of this sales venue," Kluth said. "As retailers continue to understand more about what shoppers want online, we expect to see these numbers increase exponentially."

About CouponCabin

Founded in 2005, CouponCabin helps online shoppers simplify their purchasing experience by monitoring discounts from more than 800 online retailers around the U.S. and sorting through 1,100 e-mails each week in order to provide a daily update of special offers, discounts, and promotions. CouponCabin presents these offers to consumers both through its web site and through a weekly opt-in e-mail notification. In addition to online offers, the CouponCabin Web site also includes printable coupons for in-store purchases. For more information, visit them on the Web at www.couponcabin.com.