Shoppers no longer wary of Web
Unlike the dire forecasts that Black Friday could be bleak for the bricks-and-mortar retailers, online stores are expecting a booming Cyber Monday. And more of you will likely do your online shopping while at work.
The Monday following Thanksgiving has become an extravaganza in recent years with a variety of deals and sales that attract more shoppers. A study shows that the number of people who shop on Cyber Monday while still at work increased from 51.7 million in 2005 to 72.8 million expected this year, according to a survey by the National Retail Federal and BIGresearch.
"Sure, people may be cutting back, but everyone has a gift list and even if they're buying down, they still have the same number of kids," said Peter Gill, spokesman for another business group called the Illinois Retail Merchants Association in Chicago.
A few years ago, shoppers were leery of online shopping with good cause. Many Web sites couldn't handle the volume and would crash. Products weren't always in stock. And shipping was often delayed.
"Now, that's all improved," said Gill. "Online retailers are more savvy about cross-channel promotions and they found that regular retailers see many of their customers go online first to research a product before buying online or in the store."
The National Retail Association hosts a Web site named after the holiday kickoff called CyberMonday.com. It offers about 600 retailers, including BestBuy.com, eToys.com, Overstock.com and others.
This year's updates to that site include hourly promotions with different sales or offers, a new shopping category with environmentally friendly products, and highlights of companies that offer free shipping or other incentives.
In 2007, CyberMonday.com was visited by 1.5 million people, three times the number in 2006, the association said.
And since online shopping has improved, so have the opportunities to jump onto those sites. Since many people need to work around the holidays, especially during such a tough economy, they likely will use their lunch break for shopping, Gill said.
"That's not uncommon," he said.
Surfing: While the early bird specials may be gone by now, here are Black Friday Web sites that provide department store ads in one place: theblackfriday.com, blackfriday.info, bfads.net, black-friday.net, tgiblackfriday.com, blackfridayads.com, black-friday-sales.org, blackfday.com and iblackfriday.com.
•Arlington Heights-based Restaurant.com has launched "Feed It Forward," where it will donate $30 million in free meals in the next 30 days. People can give away $10 Restaurant.com gift certificates for free at restaurant.com/feeditforward. The site will be live through Christmas Day and everyone can give free $10 gift certificates to up to three needy people per day. You then can post a note for each person that explains why you are giving the gift.
•Schaumburg-based Motorola Inc. (motorola.com) launches its Hint QA30, a pocket-size, social messaging slider now available for $99.99, after a $50 mail-in rebate at Alltel Wireless stores and online. The slide design reveals a full keypad, threaded text messaging and instant messaging, and immediate e-mail access. Looking for online shopping deals and travel updates with its 2.5-inch screen display.