It used to take generations for things to become traditional but in the warp-speed world in which we live now, things take on the traits of trad much, much faster, which is why we’re all obliged to call today Cyber Monday.
It doesn’t really matter that the concept is not even 20 years old or based in anything more solid than a hastily written press release from the US National Retail Federation.
The release from its shop.org platform saw the light of day in 2005 and Ellen Davis, the woman responsible for it, could not have grasped what she was unleashing on the entire world.
“While traditional retailers will be monitoring store traffic and sales on Black Friday, online retailers have set their sights on something different: Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving, which is quickly becoming one of the biggest online shopping days of the year,” she said.
Have yourself a merry last-minute Christmas. Shop early and forget perfect
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And was it really the busiest online shopping day of the year?
It probably was at the time. In the heady days of the early noughties, online retailing was in its infancy and the National Retail Forum had noted a spike in shopping in the US caused by people going back to work after the extended Thanksgiving holiday and using high-speed office broadband to find bargains faster.
Of course it wasn’t a thing here at all but that did not stop this page first mentioning it in 2007.
For the first seven years of its life, Cyber Monday had the contrived November sales window all to itself but then Black Friday came to this part of the world (courtesy of the Walmart-owned Asda) and muddied the waters.
Now the two “retail events” are inextricably linked with the sales period running from early in November right into December, and with that in mind we have a guide to what you need to know today.
Are there really deals to be found in the Cyber Monday sales?
There are some for sure but there will also be some that are not quite as “dealy” as the retailers of our world would have us believe and you will easily find many of the products on sale today selling cheaper or for the same price in the weeks and months after the big day.
How do you know that?
Because every year for as long as Pricewatch can remember, the British consumer magazine Which? has been tracking the “deals” on offer over the Black Friday and Cyber Monday period. It has established that 98 per cent of the products sold with the promise of deep discounts have been on sale for the same price or even less in the six months before and the six months after the Cyber Monday sales.
And is that a problem?
There is nothing wrong with that – as long as you know it is happening and as long as the retailers aren’t breaking the law, but we will come to that later. What it does mean is that you should not put yourself under unnecessary pressure to shop all around you on Cyber Monday, since many of the discounts are likely to reappear before the end of the year.
But there will be people out shopping (or should that be in shopping) on Cyber Monday, right?
The percentage of Irish shoppers taking advantage of the sales varies depending on which piece of research you believe but well over a third of us will be searching for bargains as you read this, and the average spend is likely to top €300.
But why would retailers go into sale weeks before Christmas when they know people will be frantically shopping for presents anyway?
The main reasons are marketing and pressure. The Cyber Monday sales period gives many shops a wheeze on which they can hang their advertising and marketing. Many also feel like they have no choice but to go into sale because all their competitors are doing it. And, of course, some retailers will look to use the sale to shift surplus summer stock and clear some warehouse space for Christmas stock and the stock they are bringing in to flog in the winter sales.
We still like it though, right?
We do like a good sale in Ireland for sure, although according to a recent piece of research from the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) we’re losing a bit of interest in the whole Black Friday/Cyber Monday palaver. Just over one in three consumers say they will be shopping in the window – down from more than 40 per cent last year.
And just three in 10 trust that discounts displayed by businesses are real.
Why do so many shoppers not trust the sales?
Because there are all manner of tricks retailers play on us. They can use the recommended retail price (RRP) for discounts even if the RRP has little or nothing to do with the price the product actually sells at. By using it as a benchmark retailers can make a product seem more attractive than it really is.
How do they do that?
Something can be advertised in 2024 at a price of €500, which a retailer might claim is a discount of 50 per cent because it had an RRP of €1,000 way back in 2022. Or maybe something cost €500 for two weeks in August, after which it sold for €400. A retailer might sell it for €300 now and say it “was” €500. Both of these things are technically true but also quite misleading.
Are there not rules around sales prices?
There are very strong legal requirements on businesses when displaying discounts. They must be genuine and clearly show the consumer the prior price. References to recommended retail price[s] or RRP cannot be used to mislead consumers into thinking that a product has been discounted. But many retailers are still fast and loose with the rules.
And what are people going to buy?
Electronics are going to be a particularly popular target, with four in 10 Irish consumers expecting to spend the majority of their budget on such things. Clothes, shoes and accessories come next, followed by health and beauty goods.
And will we all be happy with our purchases?
Some people will be for sure, and good luck to them. The CCPC reported that “time-bound special offers and discounts” can influence people in a negative way, with 45 per cent of those polled saying they had made unplanned purchases during a sale only to regret it afterwards. “We know that time-bound discounts and special offers can really tempt consumers into making purchases that they wouldn’t usually make,” said the CCPC’s Grainne Griffin.
Does the CCPC have any advice?
It does. “We strongly encourage consumers to plan before they shop, create a list, stick to a budget and check companies’ returns policies. Consumers should also take particular care when shopping online, making sure they buy from well-established businesses based in Ireland or elsewhere in the EU.”
Does shopping from EU sites make a difference?
It really does. For starters if you buy from Irish websites and shops, places that have a deep footprint in this country, then you will be supporting local jobs and local communities as well as boosting the coffers of the taxman – who can then use the money to support local services such as health and education. In contrast, if you buy from sites based in other countries your money is effectively being sucked out of this country, never to be seen again. And if you must buy from overseas, try to buy from within the EU.
Why is that?
Because EU law gives online shoppers significant and more easily enforceable rights when it comes to returns and faulty products. And remember an “.ie” domain is not a guarantee that a company is based in Ireland.
What? I thought all .ie sites were Irish?
Not even remotely. Many international traders who want to do business in Ireland buy an .ie address but that does not mean they are based here. The only way to establish the whereabouts of a company is to find the physical address – hiding in the “about us” or “contact us” section. If you can’t find that physical address, then that might give you pause for thought.
What rights do I have then?
If you buy something online and it is faulty, you have exactly the same rights as if you bought it in a shop within the scope of EU law. An online seller must give you specific information, including the price, any taxes that may fall due, delivery costs and details of what to do if you change your mind. You also have a cooling-off period of at least 14 days, starting from the date you receive the order. Before the end of the 14 days, an order can be cancelled and the item returned. Crucially, during this cooling-off period you can return the item for any reason. But if you cancel the order because you change your mind, you may have to pay for the cost of returning it.
You also have extra rights if your goods are not delivered on time. Generally speaking, online retailers have 30 days to get your stuff to you unless you agree otherwise. It is important to remember, however, that these rights apply only to transactions that happen within the EU.
Beware of scams
With so much money changing hands online in the run-up to Christmas it is a certainty that scammers will be on the prowl looking for ways to steal from us.
Here are just some of them.
Bogus order scams: You might get an email or text alerting to an order you placed with a particular site. The message might contain a link that you can cancel or view the order. If you don’t recognise the order you might be tempted to click the link. Don’t do that. The messages are set up to make you panic. If you want to check, go directly to the website of the company who supposedly got in touch to check if you have any pending orders. Or just ignore it.
Dodgy deliver texts: There is a very good chance you will get messages in the days ahead claiming to be from An Post or other delivery firms telling you that there are problems with your order or delivery or that you need to pay some additional tax on products bought online. Such messages will have links for you to follow. Do not follow those links. Phishing scams are as traditional as Black Friday or Cyber Monday and can be an easy way for criminals to catch people out.
Wonky websites: Scammers can be quite inventive in creating websites that look for all the world like legit websites you may be familiar with. The URLs may be almost identical – www.irshtimes.com, for example – and when you find yourself on them you might submit your personal or financial details. That is why it is important to always have your wits about you.
Deals, deals, deals: Many social media platforms are awash at this time of year with ads for one-time only deals. There are deals that are genuine but there are a whole lot more that are bogus. Before giving any website you are steered towards on a social media platform your details, google it, check the reviews, make sure it has a physical address and proper contact details. And – at the risk of sounding paranoid – always be suspicious. There are bad people out there.
[ Are Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales too good to be true?Opens in new window ]
How to be a Cyber Monday Ninja
1. Stay calm: retailers do what they can to make you think that you’ve one chance to buy what they’re selling and if you miss that chance, it will be gone for good. That is nonsense. If you miss out on something in this sale window, there is a very good chance the same thing will be on offer in the post-Christmas sales or in the midseason spring sales or in the summer sales or the autumn ones.
2. Know what a bargain is: something is only a real deal if you need it, if the discount is legit and if you can afford it. If you can’t answer yes to all three of these questions, then you might as well walk away from the sale.
3 Do your homework: admittedly, you’ve left it late but you still have time to work out if a retailer is being straight with you. If a product being sold by one shop piques your interest, see how much it costs on several other retailers first to see if the discount is real. The Amazon price-tracking website camelcamelcamel.com can help you track prices on that website, which might give you a sense of what price you should be paying.
4. Pay attention: retailers often discount clothes, white goods and tech that is on the way out so make sure what you are buying is not dangerously close to being obsolete. Buying an older model phone or television or out-of-fashion frock is absolutely grand as long as you are aware of what you are doing.
5. Make a list: if you are shopping for presents be canny about your purchases. Work out who you need to buy for, what they might like and where you might find it. Visit multiple retailers selling the products you are in the market for to work out who is offering the legit deals.
6. Be suspicious: if something seems too good to be true, then it almost certainly is too good to be true. If you see a website selling a product you really want with a discount that seems outlandish, then ask yourself is the site legit and will the product be what it promises to be?
7. Fill your basket but leave it for a bit: if you are shopping for yourself a good way to decide if you really want something is to out it in your virtual basket and leave it there for 24 hours. If you still want it when you log back on you should probably buy it. If not, you have saved yourself some money. And if it is gone, well, you have saved yourself some money on that score too.
8. Shop early or late: while the best deals might be found early today as the sale season continues, retailers might look to discount products more to shift them. So if you are happy to play chicken with the retailers you could bag the best of bargains.
9. Price watching: at times like this, retailers want to tell you about the size of the discounts but you should focus on how much it costs. Something might well be 50 per cent off but if it still costs a grand with that discount applied, it is still pretty expensive.
10. Shop local: we won’t tire of banging this drum. Irish retailers are under fierce pressure and while you could do all your shopping on the likes of Temu or Shein, these decisions come at a cost. Local retailers have a deep footprint here, they pay taxes here, employ people and use local services. They deserve and need your support.
