Before 2005 no one had ever heard of Cyber Monday, but in the last 4 years it has become a massive phenomenon. So what is Cyber Monday and how does it affect you?

In 2005 a website called Shop.org noticed that there was a large increase in the revenue reported by eCommerce stores on the Monday after Thanksgiving. They were the first to coin the phrase that is now used each and every year to describe the Monday after the thanksgiving sales.

While many people are still too scared to put their credit card details into any sort of website, the amount spent online is growing every single year. In 2008 the dollar amount was 846 million, that was 15% more than the previous year. This is only the stores that make their information public so the figure could be much higher.

As well as people spending more every year they are also starting to do their research on it earlier in the year. 2009 will be no different, in fact I think this could be the year that we see over a billion dollars spent online in just one day.

People are becoming aware of how manipulative the stores can be when they are promoting their special offers and when you shop online you are in control with a much better chance of walking away from an offer. When you are in the store and there are people around you going shopping crazy it can be hard to let what you are being told is a bargain go.

If you do decide to shop online this Thanksgiving then you could not only be saving money you could also be helping the environment. Think of all the gas you will save by not driving around town for hours and of course you get to stay in bed!