Gift Giving Guy

Three years ago, there was no such thing as Cyber Monday, the online equivalent to the Black Friday holiday shopping rush. Then on November 21, 2005, shop.org, a branch of the National Retail Federation (NRF), sent out a press release. Shop.org announced that the first Monday after Thanksgiving was Cyber Monday. The NRF predicted a significant jump in online orders that Monday, mostly from employees tapping into workplace broadband speeds. The media picked up on the idea, and the marketing ploy worked. But Cyber Monday 2005 actually was not the busiest online shopping day of the year. According to Mastercard transactions, December 5, 2005 saw the highest online traffic.

Still, Cyber Monday online sale promotions, free shipping offers, and marketing magic made the day a self-fulfilling prophesy. The NRF estimates 72 million Americans will shop online this Cyber Monday, November 26, 2007, up from 61 million in 2006.

So, yes, Virginia, there is a Cyber Monday.