Get those laptops fired up for Cyber Monday 2009

Cyber Monday 2009 falls on Monday, November 30th – the Monday following Black Friday.
It is said Cyber Monday started back in 2005 when e-tailers noticed a surge in sales the Monday after Thanksgiving. Since then, e-tailers like Amazon.com, Best Buy, Toys-R-US, Dell, Apple, and Wal-Mart offer rock bottom prices on their most popular items. Quantities are usually limited and deals frequently change throughout the day.

Every year more and more consumers turn to the Internet to do their holiday shopping. As this phenomenon progresses, so does the Cyber Monday hype. Just because you do not have to get up at 5AM and drive down to the local store, does not mean it will not be equally as frustrating. Popular items sometimes sell out within minutes, forcing some consumers look elsewhere or forgo the deal altogether.

Every company is different. Last year Apple offered healthy discounts on many of their products, but did not cap quantities or sell out of their inventory. Amazon frequently offers “door busters” in addition to less extreme discounts. This week, they have started “Black Friday deals week” in an attempt to capture a more steady flow of sales, and lessen the spike on Cyber Monday. This year, Best Buy will not be competing with Circuit City, but expect Amazon.com and Wal-Mart to put the pressure on. Anyone in the market for a PC should navigate over to Dell.com, as they have offered significant discounts on past Cyber Mondays.

What can you do to prepare for next Monday? Practice typing in your favorite e-tailers, or better yet, make bookmarks for them. Also, be sure your laptop is fully charged or plugged in to an outlet. You may also want to call your Internet service provider and ask to upgrade your line speed. – Just kidding folks. Best of luck to everyone participating in this year’s holiday shopping festivities, both online and in store.