Forget all the hype about Black Friday and Cyber Monday coming just after Thanksgiving. If history is any kind of teacher, today is the real Monday that matters for online retailers.
Dec. 12 was the busiest Internet shopping day last year. It's not the actual date that matters; it's the fact that it was the second Monday of the month. Today is the day when folks get back in to work, fret that they haven't really done a lot of holiday shopping just yet, and go online to strike deals. Waiting any longer places buyers in the unsavory position of having to overpay for speedy delivery options.
This time around, Christmas falls on a Monday, too. That creates a greater urgency to have gifts delivered by Dec. 22. It's a fact that some retailers like Amazon.com
Over at Overstock.com
Things get a bit trickier on eBay
So, are you feeling the urgency yet? Procrastinate a bit longer and hope isn't lost in cyberspace. Many bricks-and-mortar chains offer local store pickups. You also have pure e-tailers like Amazon that will shift to selling electronic gift certificates once their shipping deadlines have lapsed.
You still have time, though the masses have spoken. Today will probably be the busiest day of the online shopping season in 2006. Are you ready to be a part of it, or will your virtual shopping cart run empty?
Amazon and eBay have been recommended to Motley Fool Stock Advisor newsletter subscribers. Overstock was once a Rule Breakers selection.
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz has been shopping online for about as long as Amazon has been in business. He does not own shares in any of the companies in this story. He is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early. T he Fool has a disclosure policy.