Cyber Monday still has the best online deals for holiday shoppers

While Doug Whitley of Batavia enjoys shopping in stores, he often finds himself buying books or DVDs online, especially for the holidays.

"I really like to get books and movies and compare their prices against multiple online retailers," said Whitley, president of the Illinois State Chamber of Commerce - and a consumer who loves a deal like any other shopper.

For the last four years, Cyber Monday has invigorated the Internet, offering deals that overshadowed Black Friday for holiday shoppers who avoid the madness in the malls.

This year, the virtual lines are blurring. Internet shoppers snagged some deals on Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday and throughout the weekend, just like in the bricks-and-mortar stores.

Online retail sales on Friday were estimated at $3 billion, up from last year by more than 50 percent, according to Retail Decisions, a credit card fraud prevention firm.

Still, many dedicated shoppers waited for today, Cyber Monday, when they're expected to be able to find deeper online discounts, said Kathy Grannis, spokeswoman for the National Retail Federation, which partners on the roundup site, Shop.org.

"Black Friday is a tradition with people for a very long time, so retailers just want to reach out all the time to their customers," said Grannis. "But Cyber Monday is still the best day for online deals."

Online shoppers can expect nine in 10 retailers to have special promotions just for Cyber Monday, always the Monday following the Thanksgiving holiday.

It's a term coined by Shop.org in 2005 after some stores noticed people shopping online more on that day. A survey done by Shop.org and BIGresearch said 87 percent of retailers will have some type of special promotion on this Cyber Monday, up from 83.7 percent last year and 72 percent in 2007.

The most popular promotions will be specific deals to a Web site (43 percent), one-day sales (33 percent) and free shipping on all purchases (16 percent). And half of all participating retailers are expected to promote their deals via a special Cyber Monday e-mail, the survey said.

"It seems like companies up the ante every year for Cyber Monday," Scott Silverman, executive director of Shop.org, said in a statement.

Shop.org is hosting a special Web site called CyberMonday.com with links to more than 700 participating retailers. They include Barnes & Noble, Home Depot, Target, Sears, Cabela's, Macy's, Saks Fifth Avenue, Kmart, Kohl's, Dell, American Eagle Outfitter, Harry & David, and several online discounters.

CyberMonday.com also will feature the "Deal of the Hour," with promotions for dollars off, percentages off or a free gift with a purchase. The site will reach out to social networking sites, including Facebook and Twitter, and offer text alerts.

Chicago-based CouponCabin.com is expecting an uptick in visitors this season as well. Last year, Couponcabin.com spokeswoman Lauren Boukas said the site saved users about $839,000 and it could be about the same this year.

Due to the recession and high unemployment, shoppers will be watching their spending more carefully. So retailers will be attuned to that. Many are expected to offer free shipping for $50 or more, compared to $100 or more last year, said Boukas.

"This year the threshold is lower," said Boukas. "Also, many retailers are offering more aggressive discounts, for example, a 20 percent off coupon plus free shipping or a percent off that you can use on anything, including sale merchandise."

Major retailers like Sears, Kmart, Walmart and others offered online specials even before Thanksgiving. The Meijer grocery store chain also had online specials reflecting what was in the store and started its Cyber Monday deals on Sunday, said Meijer spokesman Frank Guglielmi.

"On Sunday and Monday, shoppers who buy $250 in merchandise will get a $50 gift card and those spending $150 will get a $25 gift card, along with free shipping," Guglielmi said.

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