You survived shopping on Black Friday, now it is time for eMonday.

The initiative highlights local online retail vendors, or “e-tailers”, offering online deals to shoppers. To participate, consumers simply have to shop on those e-tailers’ sites.

eMonday is sponsored by the Department of Economic Development and spearheaded by the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation. It was first launched in 2010 during Global Entrepreneurship Week as an online initiative aimed at encouraging residents to “shop local”. The goal remains to support the development of local e-commerce business in Bermuda.

“The EDD is happy to sponsor eMonday,” EDD director Ray Jones said. “We see it as another opportunity for us all to utilise technology in a way that allows it to power the local economy. If Global Entrepreneurship Week has shown us anything this year, it is that the pandemic continues to stir creativity and to inspire innovation in many ways, some of which can be unexpected, and most of which should be celebrated."

Proud to have supported eMonday in previous years, Mr Jones said: “This year we anticipate and encourage the participation of a larger than ever group of vendors and a wider range of offerings, on both the products and services sides.

“I’d like to encourage both the vendors and the community to partake of this opportunity to take advantage of exclusive deals and to support each other as the island looks beyond the pandemic. Buy, sell, tag and post, and who knows what you might win!”

Shoppers who use the hashtag #ChooseBermuda in their social media feeds today will be eligible for prizes. There is also a draw to win one of three $250 vouchers to be used on the website of any participating e-tailer.

To be entered into the draw, shoppers are asked to upload their receipts or payment confirmations to our online form. All receipts will be entered into the draw and winners will be announced on Friday. Only transactions dated Monday, November 29, will be considered for the draw.

Participating retail and service-based businesses will be required to accept orders online or accept orders online with the ability to provide full online payments. They will also have to offer one or more discounts or promotions on eMonday.

Additionally, they must have used social media tools such as Facebook and Instagram to direct vendors to their sites before eMonday, using the #eMonday hashtag in their promotions.

Small businesses without an online presence were encouraged to register to be a vendor on the BEDC’s virtual market, ByBermuda (www.bybermuda.bm).

“We are excited to launch ByBermuda in time for the holiday season,” BEDC executive director Erica Smith said. “We know that supporting entrepreneurs by providing them with a low to no-cost online platform can help them to increase sales and build their businesses.”

For a list of participating e-tailers see the BEDC’s local e-commerce business directory at www.bedc.bm/tools-resources/business-directories/local-ecommerce-businesses/