“Cyber Monday”, how did it begin? On November 28, 2005, Ellen Davis and Scott Silverman first used the term “Cyber Monday” as a way to promote online shopping. Ellen Davis was also the Senior Vice President of the National Retail Federation of the United States at that time. Marketing companies worked hard since that time to encourage more shopping online with their advertising campaigns.

1) Why Go Cyber?

For many years, most people only though of the term Black Friday after Thanksgiving Day. There has always been only one way to shop for Christmas and holiday presents—at the brick and mortor store. Therefore, to own a business meant that one actually owned a business at a storefront somewhere.

However, the digital age arrived with the beginning of more and more people using computers at home. Computers made it easier to browse through many store catalogues faster and more efficient. And then, the cellphones were discovered. Cellphones eventually became smartphones.

2) The Cyber Hit

Smartphones enabled Cyber Monday shopping  to become even more convenient. Many online shopper would even embrace the two-day shipping choice. However, did anyone stop to think about the ecological effect of this convenience?

Think about the following scenario….

You found an item online at a great price, so you put it into your cart. Without even thinking, you chose next day shipping as it was free. Hence, this one item was packaged by itself and shipped off onto the next truck. Because you had chosen to have this one item shipped immediately, the truck would have to do their delivery even if it wasn’t completely full with packages. That would mean more truck deliveries, more gas and more packaging.

3) Smart Cyber Monday Shopping

Cyber Monday online shopping could be more eco-friendly. Here’s how….

First of all, we could stop choosing rush shipping. When we waited longer for our parcels, the delivery trucks could pack more into the trucks and make fewer deliveries.

Secondly, we could reduce the amount of returns as much as possible. Too many free returns also meant that delivery trucks had to drive back and forth.

Lastly, as consumers, we could ask businesses to pack with as much eco-friendly packaging as possible. Remember to reuse or recycle these materials too!