How About a Week or Whole Month of Cyber Mondays?

Cyber Monday -- the first Monday after the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S. -- has arrived with lots of new sales for online buyers and more on the way. In fact, many retailers are now promoting a Cyber Week to further drive sales and there are predictions that the occasion may soon encompass the entire holiday season.

Among others, Amazon, Target and Walmart are stretching out their online-only sales through the coming weekend, effectively creating Cyber Week. The deals are widespread and tempting, including Walmart's largest Cyber Monday offering yet with 200 deals, most notably $500 off a 55-inch 3D LED TV bundle and $150 off a 32 GB iPad bundle, plus free shipping on all $35+ orders.

Not to be outdone, Amazon is offering a new deal every ten minutes, starting at midnight on Dec. 1. The giant retailer said this accounts for hundreds of sales every day, such as $100 off a Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 16 GB tablet, plus free shipping for eligible items.

Cyber Month?

Laura DiDio, a principal analyst at Information Technology Intelligence Consulting, told us she expected "we're not just going to see Cyber Week, but probably someday soon a Cyber Month into January," covering the whole holiday period.

She said that was a "reflection of the economy as well as the aggressiveness of online businesses," which these days includes virtually every customer-facing business. DiDio noted that "some of the best deals" are coming from the online units of cable TV shopping networks, like QVC.

Cyber Monday was started in 2005 by Shop.org, part of the National Retail Federation. Retailers began noticing a boost in online shopping on the Monday after Thanksgiving. Monday was selected, rather than a weekend day, because those behind the new sales event thought users would be more likely to shop if they used their...