Overview
Cyber Monday is an annual online shopping event that takes place the Monday after Thanksgiving in the United States, serving as an alternative to the annual Black Friday in-store shopping event.
Background
The etymology database Word Spy[3] cites earliest use of the term “Cyber Monday” in a New York Times[2] article titled “Ready, Aim, Shop” published on November 19th, 2005.
“Because the world needs another Officially Named shopping day, the people who dreamed up Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving, when retailers hope to turn a profit) have created a nickname for the following Monday. Hence the catchy Cyber Monday, so called because millions of productive Americans, fresh off a weekend at the mall, are expected to return to work and their high-speed Internet connections on Nov. 28 and spend the day buying what they liked in all those stores.”
According to an article on Business Week,[6] Cyber Monday was a marketing gimmick dreamed up by executives at the digital commerce association Shop.org to provide an alternative to Black Friday shopping event that takes place the day after Thanksgiving in the United States.
Notable Developments
2005
On November 21st, 2005, the Chicago Sun-Times[4] published an article reporting that online retailers were embracing Cyber Monday. On November 28th, The Colbert Report featured a comedy segment about the new shopping day. On November 20th, The New York Times[5] reported that consumers were making purchases online in record numbers.
2006
In November 2006, the website CyberMonday[8] was launched to highlight promotions for Cyber Monday sales on various sites online. On November 27th, CNN[9] reported that there was a 50 percent increase in Internet sales on Cyber Monday. On November 29th, ComScore[10] reported that a total of $608 million dollars were spent online.
2007
On November 26th, 2007, the New York Times[12] published an article titled “A Gimmick Becomes a Real Trend,” reporting on how online retailers had embraced the shopping event. On December 2nd, ComScore[11] reported that online shopping on Cyber Monday rose 21 percent to $733 million spent.
2008
On December 3rd, 2008, ComScore[13] reported that Cyber Monday sales increased by 15 percent to a total of $846 million.
2009
On December 1st, 2009, YouTuber Karen Alloy uploaded a video titled “Cyber Monday,” in which she lauded Cyber Monday as an alternative to dealing with aggressive shoppers on Black Friday. On the following day, ComScore[14] released its annual report on Cyber Monday, revealing that sales had increased five percent to $887 million and that 52.7 percent of the sales on United States web sites came from work computers.
2010
On December 2nd, 2010, ComScore[15] reported that $1.08 billion was spent online for Cyber Monday that year and provided a comparison chart showing the increase in sales since 2005.
2011
On November 29th, 2011, ComScore[16] reported Cyber Monday sales had increased to $1.25 billion.
2012
On December 4th, 2012, ComScore[17] posted its annual Cyber Monday spending report, announcing that $1.46 billion had been spent online. The report included an infographic illustrating the growth in spending on Cyber Monday.
International Impact
Cyber Monday has subsequently been embraced by online retailers across the globe, including Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Portugal, New Zealand, Germany, Chile, Colombia, Ireland, Australia, India and Japan.
Search Interest
External References
[1]PRNewsWire – Cyber Monday Quickly Becoming One of the Biggest Online Shopping Days of the Year
[2]New York Times – Ready Aim Shop
[3]Word Spy – Cyber Monday
[4]High Beam – Cyber Monday gaining ground
[5]New York Times – Online Sales take Off on Cyber Monday
[6]Business Week – Cyber Monday Marketing Myth
[7]Language Log – Cyber Monday vs eDay
[8]Wayback Machine – Cyber Monday
[9]CNN– For etailers its Cyber Monday
[10]ComScore – Cyber Monday E Commerce Spending Beats Forecast
[11]ComScore – Cyber Monday Spending Propels Holiday E Commerce
[12]New York Times – A Gimmick Becomes a Real Trend
[13]ComScore – E Commerce Spending Jumps 15 Percent
[14]ComScore – Cyber Monday Online Sales Up 5 Percent
[15]ComScore – Cyber Monday E Commerce Sales
[16]ComScore – Cyber Monday Spending Hits 1-25 Billion
[17]ComScore – Cyber Monday by the Numbers