The line between Black Friday and Cyber Monday has become increasingly blurred over the years, leaving many of us asking: What is Cyber Monday?
Read on to learn all you need to know about Cyber Monday, including what it is, how it differs from Black Friday and whether you can expect to bag a deal.
What is Cyber Monday?
Cyber Monday is the name used to refer to the Monday that follows Black Friday.
The importance of Cyber Monday has certainly dropped over the years as Black Friday has evolved and become more of a week, or even month, long event.
Traditionally, Black Friday took place the Friday after Thanksgiving and marked the day shops in the US (and later, in the UK and other countries) would discount items for one day in the lead-up to Christmas. This meant that shoppers would rush to these locations in a frenzy, stampeding through aisles and queuing around the block to catch that year’s hottest deals.
Cyber Monday, in turn, marked the Monday that followed the in-person chaos. In Cyber Monday’s case, the sales took place online, giving online retailers a chance to lure customers in with a good discount and encourage more people to adapt to online shopping when the term first began gaining traction back in 2005.
However, as Black Friday has expanded its reach, seemingly becoming longer every year with stores offering as many deals online as they do in-store, Cyber Monday has become somewhat of an anachronism. The Covid-19 pandemic certainly didn’t do the sale any favours in this respect, as retailers closed their doors in 2020 and took their business exclusively online for that year’s Black Friday event.
However, that doesn’t mean many retailers don’t still use the term Cyber Monday to build hype for the final day or week (“Cyber Week”) of their sale.
Is Cyber Monday just like Black Friday?
While the two shopping events have always been connected, they began with very separate definitions. However, as the years have passed, the distinctions between the two have blurred.
At this point, it’s really down to every individual retailer to decide whether they want to transition their sale over to Cyber Monday as the weekend commences or stick with the Black Friday moniker.
Do prices go down on Cyber Monday?
Most retailers don’t seem as invested in Cyber Monday in 2022 as they were 10, or even 15, years ago.
At a glance, Cyber Monday offers have become, at best, an extension of the Black Friday pricing and, at worst, a little bit higher, punishing those who spent too long deliberating over that new laptop or games console.
However, that won’t apply to every store and you can expect any retailer offering even better prices on the Monday to let you know about it on their website.
Or, you can just visit our live blog for all the best Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
