Julia Guerrero EDINBURG– Like Black Friday, Cyber Monday is a big shopping day for consumers. It offers some of the biggest sales from online retailers.
Cyber Monday is an online shopping event that takes place the Monday after the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday every year. Retailers offer substantial sales and promotions for consumers to take advantage of from the comfort of their own home.
According Gautam Hazarika Economics Department Chair, holiday shopping has gone up even more since the peak of the COVID 19 pandemic.
“Last year there were 196.7 million shoppers on Cyber Monday, so that was a record-setting number,” Hazarika said.
He Hazarika said those shoppers contribute to the U.S. Gross Domestic Product, which is the overall measure of monetary value of goods and services in the nation.
According to data from the World Bank, The U.S, GDP in 2022 was at $25.46 trillion.
“Consumption spending makes up the biggest chunk of GDP in the U.S.,” Hazarika said. “So, shopping by us is the biggest contributor to the size of our economy or how well businesses are doing and so on.”
He said students should consider taking advantage of sales for electronics to use on campus.
Mike Moralez, Communication Studies senior plans on doing just that. Before purchasing any items, Moralez recommends others should research the products before buying because they may not always be the best choice.
“Why is this marketed at such a low cost compared to the rest of the year or is it the same quality of computer,” Moralez said. “Are these pushed out specifically to market to that low profit margin?”
Hazarika predicted Cyber Monday sales will to remain the same as last year or even increase.
