Techcrunch – Social Media and Cyber Monday Share Similar Growth Curve [infographic]

Since its founding in 2005, Cyber Monday has become one of the biggest shopping days of the year. Similarly, since its opening to the public in 2006, Facebook has seen enormous growth.

In a post at Techcrnch, Scott Silverman, one of the Cyber Monday founders, suggests there is a definite correlation between the two. In fact, says Silverman, Cyber Monday’s growth mirrors that of Facebook.

“When the term Cyber Monday was coined in 2005, the Monday after Thanksgiving was the 12thbiggest online shopping day of the year,” states Silverman. “In 2010, Cyber Monday was the #1 biggest online shopping day of the year, with sales topping $1 billion.”

Silverman believes the growth of social media with its ability to facilitate peer-to-peer sharing is one of the reasons why Cyber Monday sales have skyrocketed over the years.

In October, Channel Advisors released a list of the top 25 retailers on Facebook. That data revealed that, together, this group had a whopping total of 259 million fans, up from 249 million just one month prior.

It’s difficult to imagine those numbers, coupled withe the fact that retailers will be pitching deals and special offers to each fan via the newsfeed, wouldn’t add up to increased sales. Silverman certainly thinks so: ”Data aside, there is no question that social media is having a profound impact on the way we shop. Today, we depend on our social networks to tip us off to the best deals and sales. Only two or three years ago this was not the case.”