What's in a name for a good deal?

  • BY SARAH SKIDMORE
    Associated Press
  • Posted: Monday, January 30, 2012 12:01 a.m.
    UPDATED: Friday, March 23, 2012 8:20 p.m.
  • Text size: A A A
A record 122.9 million Americans were expected to shop on Cyber Monday this year.
/File/APA record 122.9 million Americans were expected to shop on Cyber Monday this year.

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Cyber Monday. Green Tuesday. Black Friday. Magenta Saturday.

Chances are you won't find any of these holidays on your calendar. Yet retailers are coming up with names for just about every day of the week during the holiday shopping season.

T-Mobile's Magenta Saturday, named for the company's pinkish-purple logo, earlier this month offered shoppers the chance to buy wireless phones and some tablets on a layaway plan. Mattel lured customers with discounts of 60 percent off toys for girls and boys on Pink Friday and Blue Friday. Outdoor retailer Gander Mountain is giving shoppers deals on camouflage and other gear every Thursday through December during Camo Thursdays.

"We needed to do something a little bit different," said Steve Uline, Gander marketing chief.

It's difficult to get Americans to spend money when many are struggling with job losses, underwater mortgages or dwindling retirement savings. But merchants hope creative marketing will generate excitement among shoppers during the last two months of the year. And they know that a catchy name can make a huge difference.

"The more special you make it sound, the more you might be able to get people," said Allen Adamson of brand consulting firm Landor Associates. "It's tricky to come up with something simple and sticky."

Retailers have done it before. Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, in the 1960s became known as the day when stores turn a profit, or get "in the black." Later, retailers began marketing it as the start of the holiday shopping season, with earlier hours and big discounts.

Last weekend, Black Friday sales were $11.4 billion, up 7 percent, or nearly $1 billion, from the same day last year, according to a report by ShopperTrak. It was the largest amount ever spent on that day.

Cyber Monday was coined in 2005 when a retail trade group noticed a spike in online sales on the Monday after Thanksgiving when people returned to work computers and shopped. While more people have Internet access at home, retailers still offer discounts and other online promotions for the day started by Shop.org, part of The National Retail Federation.

Last year, Cyber Monday was the busiest online shopping day ever, with sales of more than $1 billion, according to research firm ComScore Inc.

During this week's Cyber Monday, the NRF said nearly 80 percent of retailers planned to offer special promotions. And a record 122.9 million Americans were expected to shop on the day, up from 106.9 million last year, according to a survey conducted for Shop.org.

Nonprofit Green America is launching Green Tuesday today to spur people to buy gifts with the environment and communities in mind. Last year, American Express named the Saturday after Thanksgiving Small Business Saturday to encourage shopping at mom-and-pop shops.