Sales. Discounts. Restocks. Cyber Monday, the ultimate online shopping event of the year, holds over 200 million shoppers across America. 

Originating in 2005, Cyber Monday is the following Monday after Thanksgiving when customers can purchase their favorite goods and products for a fraction of the price.

Online retailers started to take the initiative to lower their prices to compete with in-person stores such as Amazon and eBay to combat against the competition, causing people to save their money for Monday.

People ranging in ages from students to seniors have found that the addition of Cyber Monday has made it easier to complete shopping during the holiday season

Junior Kylie Posey adds “I prefer shopping during Cyber Monday over Black Friday because you can find more online and you don’t have to worry about dealing with busy stores and malls.”

Since the beginning of this holiday, billions of dollars has been spent through millions of online stores and businesses.

As more and more businesses rely on online advertising and sales, the gap in the percentage of shoppers choosing to stay home and shop on Cyber Monday continues to grow each year.

Though Cyber Monday may be seen as a great opportunity for big-name companies, the lack of in-person and black Friday shoppers negatively affects local shops.

Local businesses are seen starting Black Friday deals weeks early to draw in their customers as a way to compete against the competitive business race.

In relation, online stores are also seen doing the same kind of deals early to keep their browsers on their site.

Cyber Monday online shopping also adds the benefit of being time efficient to most schedules. With trying to find a way to get into stores around work or family commitments, making a trip can be a hassle and a large waste of time.

Teacher Melissa Cacioppo claims, “Every year I shop on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. I complete 90% of my holiday shopping online so I try to take advantage of the sales.”.

Being the junior and senior class advisor and playing a large role in the school’s business department, Cacioppo finds a way to get her holiday shopping done through the help of Cyber Monday deals.

With fairly cheaper prices online, it is important that people take advantage of these opportunities and start purchasing their holiday gifts before it is too late.