By Adam Forrest, Demandware Product Marketing

1. The CEO is in the server room chanting "YES WE CAN!"
2. Even physical store locations are offering free shipping to customers
3. Email spam filters bloat faster than the floats at the Macy's Day Parade
4. Sites are going down faster than Tom Brady's 2008 season
5. Kids catch their moms trying to swipe her credit card through the laptop DVD drive
6. IT manager busted for injecting servers with steroids
7. Al Gore surfaces to trademark the term "Web 2.0"
8. Media proclaims: "this Internet thing just might catch on"
9. Work productivity falls faster than the DOW index
10. Clickity clickity click

Hopefully our humorous look at Cyber Monday got some chuckles, but there is a scary truth behind each of those laughs. During the current economic downturn, the Web channel is going to be saving grace for retailers and manufacturers alike, as it's currently the only growth channel. CEOs and board members see the increase in Web sales and profitability as a way to offset the balance sheet bleeding. And while more CEO and board-level coverage is great, it also means that the Web channel's sales needs to continue to increase while in the spotlight.

Until recently, the online channel was growing at such an incredibly fast pace that retailers didn't need to do much more than offer free shipping to ride the online shopping wave. Now, however, we are faced with the unfortunate reality that consumer spending is at record lows and the retail sector is suffering. In order to even compete in this market (let alone succeed in this market), retailers are going to need to raise the bar and increase the efficiencies of their online stores. They will need to differentiate themselves from competitors and be able to turn on a dime with new promotions that will convert customers. What if online merchandisers had the ability to quickly react to economic woes? How powerful would it be to not only acknowledge the falling DOW index, but to create a promotion that discounts the price of all products by the percentage fall of the DOW? Aligning your business with the economy and telling customers you understand their financial situation not only gains points in the short term, but will create a sense of partnership and loyalty in the long term.

The Internet as a selling channel continues to evolve faster than the speed of light.. It only took two years from the time Shop.org coined the term "Cyber Monday" to when "Green Monday" eclipsed the day with more online sales. What is "Green Monday" you may ask? Green Monday is a newly created term for the second Monday during the month of December when all the procrastinating shoppers buy online. "Green Monday" rang in sales of $881 million in 2007 compared to "Cyber Monday" sales of $733 million. If the Internet has evolved that much in two years, is your ecommerce site staying up with the times?