Black Friday is in the books and Small Business Saturday is in the rear-view mirror. It’s now Cyber Monday, with major retailers rolling out deep discounts. The shopping holiday is celebrated the Monday after Thanksgiving every year.

Analysts are expecting Cyber Monday to be the biggest online shopping day of the year. Adobe Analytics predicts total online spending could top $14 billion. That would be up more than six percent from 2024. Shoppers already spent nearly $12 billion dollars online on Black Friday.

According to bankrate.com, Cyber Monday is a 2005 invention of the National Retail Federation. The NRF noticed that online sales on the Monday after Thanksgiving tend to be higher, likely because people were browsing at work while away from pesky kids and slower home internet connections. In 2021, the NRF found that about 20 percent of all Thanksgiving weekend shopping (which Cyber Monday is now rolled into) was done on Cyber Monday itself, and a full 79 percent of those purchases were indeed made online.

Analysts say beware of scams and do your research. If you want to purchase something and don’t know much about the company, Google the name and type scam or research after it or contact your local Better Business Bureau.

Cyber Monday is followed by what’s known as Giving Tuesday, a day that encourages folks to give back in ways both big and little in an effort to transform their communities and the world for the better.