Online retailers are depicted as especially competitive in November and December, which are the major sales months in the U.S. retail market. $32 billion in online spending is expected to be at stake this holiday season. Cyber Monday (the Monday after the Thanksgiving weekend) may be the online equivalent of Black Friday (the day after the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday legendary for its in-person sales). (Thanksgiving is celebrated on the 4th Thursday of November each year). However, last year Cyber Monday was "the ninth-busiest online shopping day. Buyers spent the most on Monday, Dec. 12 -- $556 million, according to ComScore Networks Inc......Amazon says its heaviest holiday shopping is in mid-December, near one of the last days to take advantage of free shipping.....(T)his year retailers are busy monitoring chat sites and user reviews to see what kind of buzz people are generating over promotions or products.......In the future, such buzz may come from independent sites creating communities of people sharing feedback on their purchases. ThisNext.com, Kaboodle.com and Wists.com all allow subscribers to search for products -- and comment on them. ThisNext has more than 10,000 members who have signed up to volunteer reviews of everything from Seven for All Mankind skinny jeans to leather Rocket 7 cycling shoes."

"Online Retailers Can't Wait to Snare Shoppers" By Yuki Noguchi and Ylan Q. Mui, The Washington Post, November 17, 2006.

Comment: For those interested in eCommerce from developing nations, especially in the marketing of arts and crafts online for the international market, this article may be useful.