Businesses downtown are taking a direct and delicious assault on Cyber Monday.
Cyber Monday is the Monday after the American Thanksgiving (Nov. 27) and it was created by marketing companies to persuade people to shop online. But Campbell River businesses want to you get out of the house instead and have a cup of cider on “Cider Monday” which is being held Dec. 1. Participating local stores will offer shoppers a warm welcome and a cup of delicious cider. Referred to in the media as Cyber Monday, much news is made of the gigantic surge in online Christmas spending that begins that day. However “incider” traders are hoping for drastic declines in online purchases because of Cider Monday as people abandon the virtual world of their computers and smart phones for the smarter still experience of a trip into the real world.
Cider Monday began with an independent bookstore in New Hampshire called Toadstool Bookshop, and is now taking the world by storm one sip at a time.
Shoppers are promised cider, smiling servers that will not crash, personal service and advice, the opportunity to touch and try before adding to the cart (err… armful), no logins or passwords, payment in cash if desired, and always free freight. Simply take your purchases home with you, no charge.
This year the event is starting on one block of Shoppers Row, with La Tee Da Lingerie Boutique, Gourmet Essentials, Coho Books and Options in Gold participating.
“Yum,” a local woman was overheard saying, rubbing her tummy as the tasty treat coursed incider. “I can already feel the local economy growing!”
