Cambridge business takes literal approach to Cyber Monday
A business in Cambridge has decided to take Cyber Monday literally, which includes closing its doors to the public so the team can focus their energy on online sales.
On Monday, The Art of Home closed its brick-and-mortar location to focus on the expected influx of digital sales.
“It’s been a significant sale event for us,” said Laura Mckenna, co-owner of The Art of Home. "It’s a major retail holiday, so to speak, so it’s definitely good for us to partake in. It’s challenging to compete with the big guys, so if you can find a way to participate in it, people are interested and they respond”
Mckenna said Cyber Monday has become a profitable time for them, with this year showing another strong day of sales.
The business said its doors will reopen on Tuesday.
“We have an online store, so we close the store for in-person shopping and do everything on the online store,” said Mckenna.
Established during the COVID-19 lockdown, The Art of Home said they are making Cyber Monday work despite the tall task of competing against the major retailers.
“There is a lot of orders. We woke up to a lot of orders because there is a good promotion today,” said The Art of Home employee Carrie Pakulat.
In the mid-afternoon, Pakulat said there is around 50 orders left to pack from the morning’s online sales.
SOME BUSINESSES FORGO CYBER MONDAY
Participating in Cyber Monday does not make sense for all independent retailers.
Jennifer Devitt, owner of Devitt House said Cyber Monday does not mean much to her.
Devitt said the purchasing power and money spent on marketing and advertising make it an unfair fight for smaller businesses.
“We just can’t compete on those grounds,” said Devitt. “We don’t have the volume, we don’t have the access. It would require a great deal of extra staffing, it would also be about delivery. It would be a stretch for us this time of year. It’s something we do ourselves.”
Despite not partaking in Cyber Monday, Devitt said they are expecting a solid holiday season, something she said is crucial for small retailers.
“It’s what is going to keep the doors open, if you can’t make a good holiday showing then you are not going to be around in February or March,” said Devitt.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
New one-and-done therapy can help curb severe COVID-19 infection: Canadian-led study
A Canadian-led study of a new potential antiviral therapy shows a single dose can help cut the risk of hospitalization and death from COVID-19.

Are video games good for kids' brains or bad for them? New research suggests the answer is 'neither'
A small new study has found that neither the frequency of daily gaming reported by pre-teen children nor the specific video game genres they chose to play were linked with their performance on a standardized cognitive tests.
Canada deploys military assessment team to Turkiye after earthquake
Canada deployed a disaster assessment team to Turkey on Wednesday in the wake of a devastating earthquake that's killed thousands, as the federal government faced criticism that the window to help with rescue efforts was closing.
'It was a nightmare': 2 children dead, driver charged after city bus crashes into Laval daycare
A man has been arrested and two children are dead after a driver crashed a city bus into a daycare in Laval, Que. Wednesday morning. The deadly crash sent multiple children to area hospitals and parents scrambling to find their kids shortly after they dropped them off for the day at the Garderie éducative Sainte-Rose, north of Montreal.
Alphabet shares dive after Google AI chatbot Bard flubs answer in ad
Alphabet Inc. lost US$100 billion in market value on Wednesday after its new chatbot shared inaccurate information in a promotional video and a company event failed to dazzle, feeding worries that the Google parent is losing ground to rival Microsoft.
opinion | Before you do your taxes, take note of these tax credits and deductions you may not have known about
Many Canadians are experiencing strains caused by the increased cost of living and inflation. In his exclusive column for CTVNews.ca, contributor Christopher Liew shares some of the top credits and deductions that you may be able to claim on your income tax return to help you save money.
Indigo payment systems, online store down after 'cybersecurity incident'
Indigo's payment systems and online store are down after a 'cybersecurity incident,' the company announced on Wednesday evening.
Netflix Canada begins password sharing crackdown
Netflix Canada is rolling out its long-anticipated plans to crack down on password sharing, saying it will begin notifying Canadian users today by email about limitations.
Tyre Nichols documents: Officer never explained stop to him
The officer who pulled Tyre Nichols from his car before police fatally beat him never explained why he was being stopped, newly released documents show, and emerging reports from Memphis residents suggest that was common.