Green Monday may be a new phrase for some, but the lesser known retail event likened to Cyber Monday, is projected to be the third biggest shopping day of the year.
And “Green” doesn’t mean the deals are in any way linked to the environment, green refers to the color of money. eBay originally coined the term to describe its best pre-holiday sales day.
This year, Cyber Monday brought in $2 billion in sales, up 17 percent over last year, according to analytics firm comScore. Thanksgiving Day spend came in 32 percent higher than last year at just under $1 billion, and Black Friday brought in $1.5 billion, a 26 percent increase.
“It’s not as big as Cyber Monday, but it’s bigger than Black Friday for Thanksgiving online sales,” Brent Shelton, spokesman for deal site FatWallet.com, told MarketWatch.
Last year, comScore reported Green Monday sales were up 10 percent to $1.4 billion over 2012, making it the third largest online spending day of the holiday season, and the day’s performance is expected to repeat.
Retailers like Amazon, Target and Walmart are all offering big deals on this second Monday of December for those who may have missed out on Thanksgiving’s week-long promos.
On its Green Monday deals landing page, Amazon notes, “Black Friday and Cyber Monday may be over, but big deals are back for Green Monday.” The retailer is offering limited-time discounts like 50 percent off the Kindle Fire and 63 percent off Skecher’s men’s boots.
Target is offering 40 percent off select toys, plus its free holiday shipping. At Walmart, cyber shoppers can tap into 40 percent off deals on electronics, toys, clothing and housewares.