Ok, so maybe the headlines are not such a shock to the system. But looking at the overall data in the context of Thanksgiving week and Black Friday, we do see some nuanced trends worth noting alongside the larger stories that we’re all familiar with by now. These trends include:

• Overall volume growth. There was a 28 percent increase in email volume from the Sunday before Thanksgiving through the end of Cyber Monday. This has been a consistent theme throughout past Cyber Mondays.
• Early-bird catches the worm. The lifts in volume on the days just before Cyber Monday were even higher than those before Black Friday, further solidifying the trend of earlier promotional mentions and previews of shopping specials before the actual promotions begin.
• Rise and shine. Similar to Black Friday, over 50 percent of emails were sent prior to 8am EST. In related news, how much longer can Folgers brand coffee rightfully claim to be “the best part of waking up?”

Which industries contributed most to these volume increases? Looking at volume by each industry, we saw the following trends on Cyber Monday:

• Department Stores and Apparel/Accessories led the way with 75 percent and 71 percent volume increases, respectively.
• Multi-Channel Retailers had a 46 percent increase in volume, followed by Business Product and Services (37 percent) and Publishers (33 percent) as compared to 2008.
• Luxury brands are still actively marketing in this economy, indicated by a 40 percent increase in email volume over last year.
• Emails promoting in-store traffic increased by 50 percent over last year, highlighting the increased usage of email for cross-channel marketing.