As the holidays approach, everyone begins looking for the best deals on Christmas gifts for loved ones. To find such deals, many people go shopping on the famed Black Friday; however, due to technology advances stores have seen a large increase in online shopping on a day known as Cyber Monday. But what is Cyber Monday and how did it come about? “The Pioneer Press” has decided to find out.

    “The term ‘Cyber Monday’ was coined by Shop.org, a division of the National Retail Federation, in 2004,” claims Tom’s Guide, “ a technology-focused website owned and operated by Purch.” Cyber Monday was originally designed to help stores get rid of merchandise left over from Black Friday by offering great deals on online. However, the idea of an online Black Friday quickly gained popularity because many people did not like to wait in lines or deal with pushy shoppers. By being a part of Cyber Monday, customers could still get great deals, but did not have to deals with getting up early, other shoppers, and long lines.

    Cyber Monday takes place on the Monday after Thanksgiving. Different sites offer deals at different times, so the consumer has to research the product and company they want to see and what time of the day the deals are offered.  

    “Sales have more than doubled since Cyber Monday began. On Nov. 27, 2006, online sales came in at $610 million, and on Nov. 28, 2011, online sales were $1.25 billion,” stated Tom’s Guide.