Is Black Friday the new Cyber Monday?

With Thanksgiving just a few days away, shoppers are primed and ready for the biggest shopping weekend of the year. With the idea of 4 a.m. doorbuster sales making some of us weary, more and more shoppers are avoiding the crowds and turning online as an alternative to the traditional Black Friday Weekend shopping experience.

In 2008, in the midst of the economic downturn, the online channel proved more than resilient on this weekend. In fact, according to comScore, the Black Friday weekend saw substantial growth year-over-year in e-commerce sales - 6% growth on Thanksgiving, 1% on Black Friday, 19% on Saturday and Sunday.

With that, is Black Friday weekend becoming the new Cyber Monday? With the substantial e-commerce growth throughout these days and conversion rates on Black Friday rising above those on Cyber Monday in 2008, it's looking like that weekend may be bigger than ever online. Consumers are headed to the web not only to research deals and product information before heading to the stores bright and early, they are also making that special purchase for their loved ones.

Be sure you're not underestimating these in-market online shoppers.

Posted by Eric Lopez, the Google Retail Team