The infamous Cyber Monday falls this Monday (28 November), heralding the busiest day in online retail as people rush to place their orders as December looms.

However, against the backdrop of falling sales, a crippled European economy and last year’s problems with distribution, 2011’s Cyber Monday will have a special significance. Difficulties on the high street and online last Christmas highlighted the fact that neither in-store nor online retail methods are infallible, making 2011 pivotal both in development of e-retail and the survival of the high street.

According to a survey by Media in Retail Group and CapGemini, £6.78bn was spent online in December last year. But this fledgling confidence was knocked when deliveries were delayed or cancelled last year due to the snow.

High-street shoppers often did not fare much better. Poor stock control meant an estimated 2.86 million sales were missed last Christmas [Aldata] when people were unable to get the items they wanted in-store, resulting in them going elsewhere or giving up on their purchases altogether.

Investment in technology to ensure seamless, streamlined processes is key to a controlled, wellmanaged supply chain. These days, when partnerships between third-party logistics providers are becoming more complex and fourth-party logistics providers are increasingly involved, supply chain managers need to ensure all links in the chain are working smoothly.

Advanced Supply Chain’s work with a vast number of retailers has demonstrated how important it is for them to have accuracy in the consolidation, control, and audit trail of all delivery streams. Where diff erent parties are involved, the supply chain provider must be able to synchronise activity effectively, as any failure in supply or delivery could be disastrous.

This year is set to be pivotal in shaping consumer buying habits. The way that online and offline retailers deal with logistics, supply and contingency planning in 2011 could have far-reaching effects on both the high street and e-retail.