Cyber Monday: Christmas shopping online
November 24, 2007
For decades, Black Friday has been the official first day of the Christmas shopping season. Blurry-eyed from tryptophan, dedicated shoppers leave the comfort and warmth of their bed and home to brave the predawn cold in hope of arriving close enough to the front of the line to take advantage of doorbuster deals of extemely limited in quantity merchandise.
Dedicated to saving money, but not willing to give up sleep or sanity to accomplish your thrifty goals? Not to worry. There is Cyber Monday.
Cyber Monday is the online shopping version of Black Friday. According to Shop.com, last year almost 64 percent of retailers saw significant growth on Cyber Monday and approximately a third of online retailers said that their Cyber Monday sales were up more than 30 percent from the previous year.
Cyber Monday is likely to continue to be a popular choice for shoppers looking for the best Christmas sales and deals this holiday season. This year, consumers shopping online can expect to find offers of free shipping, as well as early shopper discounts and first time buyer discounts. Shopping online offers several additional advantages to heading out to the local mall. Online a consumer has access to comparison shopping search engines and customer reviews of products they are interested in buying before they make an actual purchase. With the ridiculous cost of a gallon of gas, the ability to shop without leaving your computer screen can be substantial savings in itself.
However, consumers do not need to wait until Cyber Monday to take advantage of online shopping deals.
Many merchants are extending Black Friday online through the weekend and into Cyber Monday. One of the web destinations offering information on Cyber Monday sales is Shop.com’s CyberMonday.com The Cyber Monday website will feature information about sales and holiday deals from 500 merchants throughout the month. All profit from the CyberMonday.com is donated to benefit the Ray M. Greenly Scholarship Fund in honor of Shop.org Vice President of Research and Member Services Ray Greenly. In 2005, Greenly lost his struggle with lung cancer. The fund provides financial assistance to students pursuing careers in e-commerce.
In addition, a few of the comparison shopping search engines that help the consumer find the very best price online worth a visit are: