‘Magenta Saturday’? New names in town

Associated Press

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.

During T-Mobile’s “Magenta Saturday,” the event named for the company’s pinkish-purple logo earlier this month offered shoppers the chance to buy cellphones and some tablets on a layaway plan. Outdoor retailer Gander Mountain is giving shoppers deals on camouflage and other gear every Thursday through December during “Camo Thursdays.”

It’s difficult to get Americans to spend money when many are struggling with job losses, underwater mortgages or dwindling retirement savings. But merchants are hoping some creative marketing will generate excitement among shoppers during the last two months of the year,

“Black Friday,” the day after Thanksgiving, in the 1960s became known as the point when merchants turn a profit or operate “in the black.” Retailers began marketing it as the start of the holiday shopping season.

It’s since become the busiest shopping day of the year. This past 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, which gathers data from 25,000 outlets across the country. 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 their work computers and shopped. Nonprofit Green America is launching “Green Tuesday” today to encourage people to buy gifts with the environment and local communities in mind.

Last year, American Express named the Saturday after Thanksgiving “Small Business Saturday” to encourage Americans to shop at mom-and-pop shops.