As Americans come back from a long Thanksgiving weekend, 1 out of every 6 adults will be shopping online for the holiday season on a day that is traditionally known as Cyber Monday. This totals 30 million Americans taking advantage of numerous Internet deals.
The attention has now shifted from physical store locations to online promotions trying to get shoppers to come back and shop some more. Cyberspace is one of the best places to shop with great deals on discounts and sales that are aimed at attracting shoppers.
Many stores, including Amazon. Com and Newegg. Com, began to post information about their sales a week or so before Cyber Monday began.
These are just some of Cyber Monday 2009 Deals:
~Travel. Starwood Hotels and Resort is offering discounts up to 45% at many hotels worldwide.
~Laptops. Wal-mart is selling a laptop for just $198.
~Apple. Apple is offering a one-day shopping event and many other amazing deals.
~Digital cameras. Best Buy is offering a 10-megapixel digital camera for $49.95.
~CyberMonday. Com. This online store will be having free shipping specials, percentages and dollars off as well as free gifts with purchases.
While you may have heard the retailers had a good season, are you also aware of the constant threat online stores are to the brick and mortar retailers? Of course, this doesn’t apply to Wal-Mart, as they seem to have a way of succeeding in every market and everything. But, it does apply to Amazon vs. a Best Buy or any local discount store.
For the past ten years, Cyber Monday has been like Black Friday to online stores. They often offer great deals on the most popular products and get a ton of business from those who didn’t want to fight the crowds the Friday before. This year was no different in regards to great deals on Cyber Monday. However, it was different in the sense that online stores are now also going after Black Friday and stealing some customers away from the brick and mortar stores.
Many online retailers have reported being extremely busy this past week, and in some cases, they have already run out of stock for some popular products.
Whether it’s Black Friday or Cyber Monday, this year consumers aren’t just looking for general deals, but promotions on what they’re specifically looking for. This is what a sensitive economy can do to a consumer, and all online retailers are responding accordingly.
For the first time, QVC is going to take aggressive action in being a major player on Black Friday. Their angle is to get people to shop from the comfort of their home while not having to deal with traffic and crowds. In addition to that, they will also be offering some never seen before deals and products.
Their Black Friday shopathon will begin at 8 p.m. on Thursday night and will be hosted by Dave James. He has promised to stay up and host the event for 28 hours straight. He has also promised that he will have a lot of coffee in his system. Seeing how he handles such a challenge might alone offer some entertainment.
QVC is taking this approach primarily because their 2008 revenue was 8% lower than in 2007. So far this year, revenue has been flat. The value of their items have also been slightly down recently. This Thanksgiving ‘shopathon’ offers the network a perfect opportunity to get into the black.
Other reasons to watch: they will have a specially priced offer ever hour and five hours of never sold before gifts. There will also be other special deals and new items to urge viewers to tune in.
Shop the Black Friday Sales From Home
Several big stores are changing the black Friday sales this year. This comes after last year’s fiasco where an employee was trampled to death by crazy shoppers trying to get a good deal. Several stores are letting shoppers in at midnight. Although, the super deals will not be available until 5 a.m., they are hoping to cut down the mob effect.
Stores are going to let shoppers use their iPhones to purchase the super deals over the internet, and then pick up the item inside. This is another tool to cut back on the massive surge when the doors open. A customer can simply go to package pick-up without ever stepping foot in the chaotic stores. Stores that have a customer friendly web application will earn more online customers.
There are a number of sites that have the black Friday deals posted so the savvy consumer can shop ahead of time. Some of the deals that can be found for a few hours on the Friday after Thanksgiving include portable DVD players for just $49, a 50 inch HDTV for $598, and a blu-ray player for $78. These are great deals, BUT there is a catch. Most of the stores advertising these great deals only have a handful of these items, which some people consider misleading.
Savvy shoppers can sit at home in their jammies, nice and warm and get the same deals delivered to their front door. The internet is the future for black Friday sales.