Annual shopping day events have become pop culture institutions in this country. For better or worse. Black Friday, for example, is arguably the biggest shopping event of the year. It’s an annual tradition where shoppers publicly scramble for above-average savings in stores. This event also has a dark reputation for the rowdiness and danger involved. It’s no wonder that with the pop culture elevation of Black Friday or Cyber Monday, most people ask, “What is Green Monday?”
Black Friday has been the biggest single day shopping event for many years running. It’s infamous for televised scenes of shopping mobs swarming into retail stores on a quest for savings.
Black Friday has also been quite dangerous at times. Over 117 people have been injured and two have died at Black Friday shopping events from 2006 to 2018.
With the advent of the digital age, and the ease of online shopping, Cyber Monday has actually replaced Black Friday as the biggest shopping event of the year.
This happened twice; in 2017 and 2018.
About 86% of people will shop online or in physical stores for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Over $87 billion will be spent over this time.
Most people will spend about $400-per-purchase over the Thanksgiving holiday.
The average person saves 21% on purchases with Cyber Monday and about 18.5% with Black Friday. These are only conservative estimates. However, you can save just as much, or more, by shopping on Green Monday too.
What is Green Monday? Well, it is also sometimes known as, “Cyber Monday 2.” To truly understand it we need to differentiate it from Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
The 3 Biggest Annual Shopping Days
Black Friday has its origins in the 1950s when Americans blew off work after Thanksgiving to shop.
Cyber Monday was created in 2005 by Shop.org to signify an online shopping event commencing on the first Monday after Thanksgiving.
The origin of Green Monday is up to debate. Apparently Green Monday was coined by eBay in 2007. Shopping.com has also laid claim to creating the phrase.
The second Monday in December was eBay’s most profitable day of the year at the time. So, “Green,” apparently is a reference to money.
Green Monday is the second Monday in December and strategically falls within the two-week window until Christmas Day. Additionally, Green Monday falls on December 9 this year.
Green Monday is also the usual, and affordable, cutoff date for online consumers to shop with a guarantee that their purchases will arrive before Christmas Day.
In 2016, the one-day profit total for Green Monday was over $1.6 billion.
Why You Should Care About Green Monday
Depending on the retailer, December and January are their last chances to clear out prior year’s inventory.
Comprehensive online comparison shopping at this time will aid you in finding steep last-minute deals that you wouldn’t have found on Black Friday or Cyber Monday.
You could save anywhere from 50% to 90% on your Green Monday purchases.
I am not crazy about giving into the hype of manufactured shopping events.
However, if you shop on any of the other 362 days of the year, and not on these three days, especially Green Monday, then you’re bound to lose out on big savings.
Lastly, if you are shopping online you might consider going with a cash back site like dollardig.com. Its got like 3,000 partner stores, which is pretty good if you’re looking to shave a couple of percentage points off whatever you are buying.
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Allen Francis was an academic advisor, librarian, and college adjunct for many years with no money, no financial literacy, and no responsibility when he had money. To him, the phrase “personal finance,” contains the power that anyone has to grow their own wealth. Allen is an advocate of best personal financial practices including focusing on your needs instead of your wants, asking for help when you need it, saving and investing in your own small business.