I’ve been doing a portion of Christmas shopping on line since 2000. That was the year I followed an email to the Toys R Us website where I not only found everything I was looking for but got free shipping to boot! Every year on line retailers have offered better deals and often throw in perks like priority shipping or free gift wrapping to earn your business.
In 2005 Shop.org (part of the National Retail Federation) coined the term “Cyber Monday” to help encourage on-line shopping after the busy Thanksgiving weekend. According to a company that tracks e-commerce, Cyber Monday retailers noticed a 26% increase in sales. Now, nearly every major retailer offers web only specials the Monday following Thanksgiving.
This is great news for us shoppers but just like Black Friday, if you want the most out of it you need to do some homework. This year I put together my shopping list and started looking for specials at specific e-tailers. After about 20 minutes I found a site that had specials for over 650 stores. It made planning a lot easier. Ironically, it was set up by Shop.org - the same people who invented Cyber Monday. If you’re shopping Monday look here first: cybermonday.com. Btw - don’t forget the coupon codes. Many retailers will have them on their site. If you don’t find one, google the name of the retailer and the term “coupon code.” Hope you find a great deal!
