Strike Online Shopping Gold on Cyber, Green & Brown Mondays

December 2011

Cyber Monday (Nov. 28): If you can hold your horses for just three more days after Black Friday, you can partake in the sales of Cyber Monday. Shop.org single-handedly coined this term in 2005 because the Monday after Thanksgiving saw a tremendous bump in online business. By this time each year, shoppers have had a chance to peruse the stores to see what’s out there. And because they know what they want, they can just go online, click a button and purchase products without having to brave the stampede at the malls.

Green Monday (Dec. 12): Like Cyber Monday, Green Monday is a marketing term originally generated by a website, in this case, eBay. Named in honor of the company’s biggest sales date, Green Monday (“green” meaning money) is generally understood to be on the second Monday in December, and it’s the biggest online shopping day of the year. Last year, comScore reported that $954 million was spent on Green Monday alone — nearly $300 million more than Black Friday’s spending total.

Brown Monday (Dec. 19): It’s the time when merchants post their most aggressive discounts. This is the final holiday stretch; it’s the mad dash to get presents for your friends and family. Traditionally, Brown Monday has also offered last-minute free shipping with guaranteed holiday delivery. Still, you better hope the postman makes it to your house in time.