Cyber Monday: Hype or Reality?

H.Rox
H.Rox, Yahoo! Contributor Network
Nov 23, 2007 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."
People who don't get all their shopping done on Black Friday, or who just don't like getting up before the crack of dawn to battle it out with the crowds often turn to their computers to finish buying the items on their lists. The National Retail Federation says in the past few years, many people have started their online shopping the Monday after Thanksgiving, when they returned to work. The federation says the trend was noticed and the term "Cyber Monday" was born.

But, as new as the name is, some say it may already be a passing fad. There are two main reasons for this, according to PCMag.com. One, more people have faster connections at home, so they don't wait until they get to work to shop. Two, many of the websites don't wait until Cyber Monday to start offering big deals.

A quick search Thanksgiving night found that to be true. Many websites were offering bargains and free shipping before Black Friday even started. Among other deals, Target offered $299 off a 57" TV. Sears had clothes on sale and 50 percent discounts on tools. Macys -- well, there must have been something going on there. This is the message that popped up:

We'll be right with you.

It's a little crowded in here right now, and to make sure everyone enjoys shopping with us, we're asking new visitors to wait here a few moments while other shoppers finish up. We'll refresh your browser and welcome you in momentarily. Thanks for your patience!

In addition, there were online sales posted on websites such as Black Friday 2007, including in this entry, posted the day before Thanksgiving: Online Black Friday Sales and More!

This may be the year where a lot of people get their Black Friday Shopping done online. We've introduced two new features today to help you prepare all of the online sales that will be going on for the remainder of the week (starting today) and lasting all the way until Cyber Monday (November 26).

"Online Black Friday" -- where does that leave Cyber Monday?

Even retailers admit it's not the busiest online shopping day of the year. Shop.org says it is the "ceremonial kickoff to the online holiday shopping season."

Shop.org is a division of the National Retail Federation. They clearly are hoping Cyber Monday will grow. According to their website, Cyber Monday will be "more promotional than ever" this year, with stores offering an "assortment of one-day specials to send shoppers online." Plus, they say, "While more than half of U.S. homes have high-speed access, many Americans feel the best place to shop for gifts is not at the mall, but at the office."

Just hope the boss isn't looking over your shoulder.

Published by H.Rox

I am a freelance writer/reporter based in New York and am here to try some online writing on various topics including: personal finance, the economy, news and Long Island events. Enjoy.  View profile

  • Cyber Monday Phenomenon May Be Spreading to Other Dates
  • Many Retailers Aren't Waiting To Offer Deals

10 Comments

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  • Dina Hollerbach11/26/2007

    Judging by how slow my internet service is today, I'm thinking that Cyber Monday does certainly exist, and is bigger than ever. I may participate myself after battling crazed shoppers all weekend who don't obey the laws of safe shopping cart pushing. Hasn't anyone ever heard of looking both ways before proceeding? :-)

  • Nancy Lichtenstein11/26/2007

    I never heard of Cyber Monday until this year, but thanks for the heads up. I checked for deals yesterday (Sunday) and found enough of them that I got all my kids' shopping done. I don't think I'll step foot inside a mall this year.

  • Nikki11/26/2007

    Godo article. I think cyber Monday is all hype, and agree with Jennifer that I don't see a boost in my ebay sales on cyber monday.

  • Jennifer Claerr11/26/2007

    I don't experience much of a boost in sales in my eBay store on Cyber Monday, yet eBay tries to get us all hyped up getting ready for it. It really isn't all it's cracked up to be.

  • Lorraine Hayden11/26/2007

    I think Cyber Monday is just hype- most stores posted their online CM sales yesterday(Sunday)and basically there are no real bargains out there. Circut City has a 10% Off code for items purchased online-picked up at the store but for the items I wanted there was no instore pickup available at my local CC. Good article :)

  • Sarah Senghas11/25/2007

    cyber monday, that is... not your article!!

  • Sarah Senghas11/25/2007

    I had actually never heard of "cyber monday" until I got an email from target yesterday! lol
    thanks for the info- I thought it seemed a little bogus myself...

  • P. L. Ward11/25/2007

    Good article. I was considering writing about this topic myself. I read that Cyber Monday was hype and retailers were hoping to build it up.

  • cathiesbloggs11/24/2007

    Great article..

  • Kay Whittenhauer11/24/2007

    Instead of waiting in line (in the wind and snow)on Black Friday, I bought on-line Thanksgiving Day. The deal wasn't quite as good, $350 off as oppossed to $550 off, but at least I got it. I tried to get it on Black Friday (thinking I could retrun the first one) but it had already sold out. I'm glad that we got it on Thanksgiving. I'm going to "surf" Monday, just to see what kind of deals there are. I'm always up for a good discount! Thanks for the info! Good point about more people having high-speed at home.

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