By: Dallin Rahlf 

Black Friday came and went, and I hope it was awesome for you. Whatever your goal was, whether it was to spend for the future and get all of your holiday shopping done in one day or simply getting a product or two you’ve been patient with, I pray you found happiness over the weekend. 

Black Friday is kind of a weird day, isn’t it? It’s like, a demigod that sits slightly below the thrones of major holidays. Like... Achilles! I don’t know if any calendars are printing out “Black Friday” on the calendar after Thanksgiving, but it’s probably getting close to that point. Black Friday is like a holiday… but not? I feel like it should start getting some recognition. Right up there with Black Friday? Cyber Monday. Cyber Monday is still being forced against its will to sit at the kids table while all the grownups sit at the other table. It’s like that one 16 year old that wants to be an adult but cannot seem to find a seat with the big boys. What is Cyber Monday? Where did it come from? Will it increase in popularity? Will it ever get to have grown up conversations with the other guys?

First off, be sure to check out the GetOutPass and our very own Cyber Monday sale if you haven’t yet. If you’re unaware of the GetOutPass, it’s your best way to experience local attractions. Instead of paying for every individual trip you and your family and friends will make to amusement parks, bowling alleys, entertainment centers, and anything in between, you’ll save MASSIVE amounts of money by joining the GetOutPass. With one low price, you’ll get free admission to everything mentioned above and dozens more. It’s great for trying new things, getting out of the house, saving money, making memories, and supporting small businesses. We’ve got an awesome sale going on right now. Check it out! 

The History of Cyber Monday 

The history of Cyber Monday is pretty fascinating. Someone, somewhere had to coin the phrase and get everything going. I did some digging and found that a certain Ellen Davis is responsible for coining the term and starting the whole idea of Cyber Monday. Ellen Davis is the Executive Vice President of Industry Engagement at Consumer Brands Association. Consumer Brands Association is the national trade association for consumer packaged goods in the US. They represent companies that manufacture food, beverages, household, and personal care products, according to Google. 

Davis comes from Galesburg, Illinois and got her Communications degree at Millikin University and her Master’s in Business Administration from Georgetown. Davis’ research found that many people were participating in online shopping the Monday after Thanksgiving. There was an unusual spike that they discovered. Why? They assumed it was because, in this the year 2005, people were able to online shop a little easier at work with faster internet speeds and no kids to distract them. 

With this research, Davis released a press release showing their data and made the bold claim that the Mondays after Thanksgiving would be massive for online shopping. They were, naturally, correct. They were trying to decide on a name and tried going with Black Monday or Blue Monday (blue coming from the blue hyperlinks that are found everywhere on the internet). Turns out the people didn’t love Black Monday because that phrase is used for a massive work stock market crash (a little before my time--I have no recollection of this) and Blue Monday sounded… well, sad. 

With the New York Times helping out with spreading the news of the new “Cyber Monday”, sales reached an all time high that year. Year after year, sales would increase on the Cyber Monday, and in 2014, Cyber Monday brought in over $2 billion in sales. Wild. And since then, with the rising popularity of the idea of online shopping and Amazon just doing its Amazon thing, sales will continue to increase for online retailers forever and ever, I’m guessing. 

Tips for Cyber Monday 

Cyber Monday and Black Friday share a ton of the same ideas and philosophies when it comes to shopping. Shopping in a store is one thing, because you already go through a ton of checks and balances by the time you’ve made it to the purchasing part. You have to physically get yourself there, confront the crowds, find what you’re looking for, grab it, bring it to checkout, then pay for it. That’s a lot of time to consider if what you’re doing is worth it or not. With online shopping… those checks and balances disappear and you can find yourself getting lots and lots of goodies without seeing what you’re getting yourself into! 

• As always, be sure to really consider what you’re getting. Is it something that you were patiently waiting for a sale? Is it something you’re going to need to get in the future? Is it something that will bring you happiness, peace, and joy to your life?? You know you best. Sometimes it’s good to splurge on yourself! Just don’t, like, only splurge on yourself. You know? You know. 
• Find reviews from friends or people online. Some websites do a very good job of looking legit and being fake. I’ve had a couple people think that the GetOutPass is fake because it seems too good to be true! I get it. New products are fun but can raise concern. Find some community page or online forum to talk to actual people about the product. I have found that social media is great with this, Reddit in particular. You can talk to someone about the product to see if it’s even real. 
• Shop small, when you can. You can find lots of products on our big name brand friends that handle all our online shopping needs. You can help support small businesses by finding their product on these big websites and following the trail to their website. Some small businesses live and die with the holidays. Help support local and small businesses by buying directly from them! It might come a day or two later, but if it’s a product you love, your extra dollars to them will go a long way.

Go forth and spend or save, as you will! Good luck my friend!