When Cyber Monday Becomes Cyber Sunday

It’s about 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 30… and Cyber Monday has begun… Or maybe it really is Monday, since I’m working.

A look at my Yahoo inbox shows Cyber Sunday is the new Cyber Monday. Or that Cyber Monday is now a two-day event (kind of like how Black Friday is now a two-day event that includes Thanksgiving, or how Black Friday is now a part of a 5-day Cyber Weekend… Remind me to ask Bronto’s Jim Davidson about that when we conduct a video interview on Dec. 1, the actual, real Cyber Monday).

I look at my Twitter news feed indicates the same thing: Cyber Monday is here, and Cyber Monday has become Cyber Sunday, too. And when you say it like that, it makes perfect sense.

The Cyber Monday phrase/shopping holiday was coined by Scott Silverman when he was at Shop.org, during a time when most of us were still surfing the web at home on dial-up lines. But if you were lucky enough to have a desk job – and a PC or a Mac at your desk with a T1 line – you could surf the web at lightning speeds. So Cyber Monday – the first ecommerce shopping holiday – was born, and office productivity would suffer every Monday after Thanksgiving forever and ever.

But we’re no longer Cyber Cavemen living in a dial-up world. Faster in-home Wi-Fi means consumers can shop from their sofas at any time of the day at blazing speeds, whether it’s from a laptop or a tablet or a smartphone. So of course, Cyber Monday’s run as an ecommerce Holy Day has to come to an end, right?

Wrong.

Last year, Adobe reported record Cyber Monday sales. IBM reported record Cyber Monday sales. comScore reported record Cyber Monday Sales. Rumors of Cyber Monday’s death had been greatly exaggerated.

And now, merchants are starting their Cyber Monday sales on Sunday. Which, of course, makes perfect sense. Even if it means you think you’re late to work and are going to miss your Monday morning meeting.

Here’s a look at some of the Sunday morning emails (and tweets) I’ve seen which declare the start of Cyber Monday on Sunday… and some that declare today is an extension of Black Friday.

Cyber Monday Has Started:

Save early and save a lot with the 2-Day Cyber Savings Kickoff. #HintingSeason https://t.co/ocyYbMSvCa

— Best Buy (@BestBuy) November 29, 2014

The deals keep on coming with #CyberMonday. Save up to 80% on everything you need for your breakroom. https://t.co/XGmoni8M5r

— Staples US (@Staples) November 30, 2014

 

Black Friday is Still Here:

Black Friday SALE on now till Nov 30th in-store and online! Lots of amazing DEALS still available! https://t.co/kKAchBBDBt

— Future Shop (@FutureShop) November 28, 2014

#BlackFriday may be over, but our deals aren’t. Check out all the great cyber week deals here: http://t.co/E0QBg0Fq0p

— Dick’sSportingGoods (@DICKS) November 30, 2014