Those with an aversion to crowds and lines are opting to stay home and score deals with a simple mouse click.
Cyber Monday, coined in the mid-00s, quickly became one of the biggest online shopping days for retailers, offering the option of avoiding the angry mobs that grow outside of stores just hours after finishing their Thanksgiving meals.
According to published reports, 39 percent of the population plans to spend less than $100 on Cyber Monday, while 54 percent of adults expect to drop between $100 and $500. Only a small six percent of people said they would spend somewhere above $500.
Cyber Monday’s familiarity among the population is also on the rise. Sixty one percent of adults report they know what Cyber Monday is, up from 48 percent who said the same in a 2011 survey. Only 28 percent of the population said they did not know about Cyber Monday, with 12 percent remaining unsure.
According to Forbes, clothing is the top item purchased on Cyber Monday.
A manager at the Barnes and Noble store in Bayside said last week that while an increasing number of people are opting to shop online instead of braving crazy crowds, there would still be a line outside the store before opening hours.
“I do expect people to shop online more because of the convenience,” said the manager. “But I do still expect to see a crowd over the weekend.”
The manager said she did not think deals in the store would differ from deals online.
Some struggling under tough economic times have decided to forgo deal diving, regardless of its online ease.
“No, I’m not going shopping on Cyber Monday because I don’t have enough money,” said Gail Johnson from Bayside.
“Even though you get better deals on Cyber Monday than Black Friday.”
-Additional reporting by Melissa Mott
