Cyber Monday Deals - Can You Really Save Money?

You certainly have heard of "Black Friday", the Friday that follows Thanksgiving, which marks the traditional start of the Christmas shopping season, with physical stores offering substantial discounts on their wares to attract the holiday shoppers. Likewise, the US has a Cyber Monday too. It is the Monday that follows Thanksgiving. The phrase was coined by the US National Retail Federation's Shop.org to prompt people for online shopping of goods as soon as they come back to work, at the end of a long weekend that lasts four days. People know that the Cyber Monday deals could help them save serious money on shopping.

Though the term Cyber Monday was devised for the purpose of marketing, it is proven that, soon after the Thanksgiving holiday, there is an increase in online sales in the U.S. It's that time in the US when holiday shopping gains momentum, with retailers being likely to have higher sales. Many stores, having offered pre-holiday plus Black Friday sales, offer more discounts through the Internet. It is not uncommon for stores to extend even additional discounts, but only for online shoppers. Analysts inform us that the traffic on the Internet tends to go up on Mondays, as people come back to workplaces. Despite nearly 70% of the households having a broadband connection, the substantial part of their hunt for Cyber Monday deals and the subsequent shopping is done from a computer at the office.

It is interesting that the Monday following the Thanksgiving is often not the major day for online shopping; the Monday offering maximum sales comes later on, in December. Customers who wish to get their gifts by Christmas need to order them one or two weeks before the start of the holidays. And that is often their busiest period for selling via the Internet. Some online stores would offer maximum discounts nearing Christmas.

Somehow, the consumers seem to appreciate the initiative of Cyber Monday, and that is reflected in the substantially increased sales on that day. During the period between 2006 to 2011, the volume of online sale on the Monday following Thanksgiving doubled and crossed $1.2 billion. The trend is catching on with other countries too. Apart from Canada, retailers from many other European countries are offering attractive deals on Cyber Monday.

Does Cyber Monday yield maximum sales?

A number of online stores offer discounted prices to their customers that place an order on Cyber Monday. There are also online companies offering various incentives, like free shipping to their first-time customers.

Nonetheless, Cyber Monday deals are not the only ones offering discounts. This is only an opportunity for dealers to make additional sales on the Monday that follows Thanksgiving. Many online stores conduct Black Friday sales just one week in advance, and keep it on for the entire week. Apparently, the best discounts are provided in the beginning of the season, but many retailers on the Internet continue offering discounts during the entire holiday shopping period.