Back in the day, Americans spent hours fighting traffic, crowds and sore feet in order to tackle their Holiday shopping list. But on Monday, many will finish all of their shopping in minutes by barely lifting a finger.
Cyber Monday has changed Holiday shopping forever — but there was a time not so long ago when online shopping was practically unthinkable.
A video produced by Mashable describes the rise of Black Friday in the 1980s, as retailers began to realize that Americans would use the Friday after Thanksgiving to complete their holiday shopping. As more retailers encouraged "Door Buster" deals and early-morning shopping, crowds became larger and harder to control. The peak came in 2008, when a Walmart employee was trampled to death by a crowd of shoppers.
RELATED: Cyber Monday deals have started
How to protect yourself on Cyber Monday
With Black Friday crowds growing out of control in the early 200s and internet connections becoming faster and more widely available, online shopping began to look much more attractive to consumers. Researches began to notice that consumers continued to shop online into the work week, as most Americans had a more reliable internet connection at their jobs.
In 2005, the National Retail Federation first used the term "Cyber Monday" in a press release. Online retailers jumped on the bandwagon, and the unofficial shopping holiday continues to grow to this day.
comScore, a global measurement and projections company, predicts that Americans will spend a record $3 biillion this Monday.
Alex Hider is a writer for the E.W. Scripps National Desk. Follow him on Twitter @alexhider.
