Cyber Monday Makes Holiday Shopping as Simple as Clicking Your Mouse

Instead of braving early morning cold temperatures and the crowds at the mall, here comes a shopping day every person can enjoy from the comfort of his or her own home. 

Cyber Monday—the retail day for shopping online this holiday season—takes place on the first Monday after the Thanksgiving holiday. Last year, consumers spent an estimated $13.55 billion on e-commerce starting on Nov. 29, 2010 through Christmas Eve, according to ComScore.com. 

As shoppers leave Black Friday and Small Business Saturday behind, the e-commerce season begins. Online shoppers may enjoy the convenience of shopping from the comfort of home, avoiding long lines, parking hassles, wrapping gifts and trudging to the post office to mail gifts. 

In fact, though it's not an official holiday, Cyber Monday appears to be a day that is growing in popularity year after year.  According to ComScore.com figures, Cyber Monday shoppers spent $887 million in 2009 and more than $1 billion a year later—a 16 percent increase—with each buyer making 1.86 transactions in 2009 and 1.90 transactions last year. 

In 2005, the idea for Cyber Monday was created by the National Retail Association. It encouraged shoppers to buy holiday presents using the quick and easy convenience of shopping by the click of a mouse. The idea has gained popularity and has been used as a marketing strategy in other countries as well, including the United Kingdom and Canada. 

Though e-commerce shopping seems to be growing in popularity each year, more people are shopping from home than sneaking their purchases during their lunch hours at work. The percentage of people making Cyber Monday transactions while at work fell in 2010 to 48.9 percent from 52.9 percent in 2009, according to ComScore.com. 

To see more of the ComScore.com breakdown, click here.