Green Monday

Green Monday is a retail term for the second Monday in December, one of the most lucrative days for retail companies. eBay claims to have coined the phrase, Green Monday, in 2007, due to the historically high volume of sales on second Mondays in December. However, some report, it was Shopping.com, who coined the phrase. Either way, this retail event continues to be a marker of holiday sales. 

Green Monday is promoted by big box stores and online shopping giants, like Amazon and Target, and in 2016, Green Monday online sales reached $1.621 billion, according to Statista. 

There is no shortage of catch-phrases for the major retail shopping days that occur near the winter holidays. Black Friday describes the Friday after Thanksgiving, when many people start their Christmas shopping because they are off of work and retailers offer special sales. Cyber Monday describes the Monday following Thanksgiving, where online retailers offer above-average deals to entice consumers. Green Monday is also known as Cyber Monday 2 in retail circles due to the high volume of online shoppers seeking last-minute holiday deals. 

While some stores actively promote Green Monday, other retailers may simply offer holiday deals on that day in an effort to reach holiday shoppers and reduce merchandise before the end of the year.  The "green" in Green Monday may have two references, green for dollars, or environmentally green, if one considers online shopping a more eco-friendly endeavor than ratcheting up deals in brick-and-mortar stores.