Posted on 11/25/2005 12:55:45 PM PST by Cagey
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - U.S. online holiday sales are expected to hit nearly $20 billion this year and should take off on Monday, when consumers return to work and their fast Internet connections after the long Thanksgiving weekend.
"Cyber Monday," the term coined for the Monday after Thanksgiving, comes on the heels of the busy "Black Friday" shopping day when many brick-and-mortar retailers begin turning a profit.
The good news for online shoppers this year, is that "Cyber Monday" is becoming the Web shopping equivalent to "Black Friday" when retailers launch major sales and discounts to drive traffic, analysts said.
Consumers are seen spending $19.6 billion on non-travel goods on U.S. Internet sites during November and December, up 24 percent from $15.8 billion during the same period last year, according to comScore Networks.
That accounts for less than 5 percent of total holiday sales in the United States but excludes large corporate purchases and sales on auction sites like eBay Inc. (EBAY), the most popular shopping site on the Web.
"Most people who shop online do it at work, not at home," despite rising rates of high-speed home Internet connections, said Jay McIntosh, Americas director of retail and consumer products at Ernst & Young. Work connections tend to be faster than those at home, he said.
While companies like Amazon.com (AMZN) were first to make a splash selling online, traditional retailers have helped to drive sales with investments in their own Web sites and by offering consumers the chance to return Web purchases at physical stores, McIntosh said.
Concerns about returns and the inability to touch and feel items are major issues now for consumers who in recent years had listed security as a top Web-shopping worry, he said.
FREE SHIPPING RULES
While today's Web shoppers are wooed by conveniences such as avoiding store lines and driving costs, as well as price-comparison tools offered by Shopping.com (SHOP), Shopzilla, Yahoo Shopping (YHOO) and Google's (GOOG) Froogle, a survey from online retailer association Shop.org said the biggest draw was free shipping offers.
Jupiter Research analyst Patti Freeman Evans said consumers will be more concerned about prices this year due to higher home heating costs and added that many shoppers believe they can find better deals online because there is more choice.
"Pricing online is competitive. Sometimes you can get better deals online, sometimes you can get them in stores with sales and coupons and rebates," she said.
I don't agree with this one. I think people do it at work because it's more fun that way and without all those "home distractions".
And the sheep do as they are told... CONSUME!
Is that a bad thing?
Well... It depends upon what you value.
Time, or stuff.
* Always shop online on Friday or early Saturday, so your products will ship out first thing Monday am.
* NEVER, ever opt for overnight or 2-3 day shipping. Always get standard - it'll get there just as fast because the shipping companies have stepped up their shipping for the holiday season. In some cases overnight shipping is just next-day. Certain retailers have cut-off times for when the order ships out, say Noon EST. If you place a next-day ("overnight") order early in the afternoon, it's not going to arrive until the day after that. And if it's Friday, you're screwed until Monday anyway. If you're uncomfortable with standard shipping, ask for U.S. priority mail - some retailers will bump it up for free.
* If you're sending it to a P.O. Box YOU MUST USE PRIORITY MAIL!!
* If you live in an apt complex or in a high-crime area ASK FOR UPS or Fed-Ex GROUND SHIPPING!!
* ALWAYS correspond by email. Trust me - talking with someone over the phone about a problem sucks. With email, you can lay out your problem in detail and get a reply usually within 24 hours.
* ALWAYS order online instead of calling it in over the phone. People screw up the orders big-time.
* ALWAYS refer to the product with the product number when you're calling with a question about it, so you'll get faster service.
I don't normally buy time, I make it.
I buy stuff.
Good suggestions.
But that X-Box that fat-lil-johnny just HAS TO HAVE will cost you time - even if it's the time you take to hold up the bank.
You have a career in infomercials:
Get Rich by Spending!
The bottom line is this, Americans are working longer and harder then ever - and at the same time, have no appreciable savings.
That what the jealous loser socialists in Europe and here tell us. However in socialist Europe people have much less stuff than what we have and even worse that they dedicate much less time for family and family values than what we do. They are deeply screwed on every level.
Please refer to the heat wave summer in 2003 that killed over 30 thousands people in Western Europe (France, Italy, Spain, etc...) because the European did not have the stuff "Air conditioners" and they did not have the "Time" to care about their elderly who constituted most of the victims.
A laudable character trait, to be sure.
I just don't like the cattle-drive-group-think of the Holiday Consumption Season.
I may be odd but I do my shopping locally. I feel that I am supporting local wage earners this way.
Do they actually own them, or are they mortgaged for 130% of the inflated value?
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