Shoppers, Get Ready for Cyber Monday
By: NBC News
Updated: November 23, 2012
The biggest online shopping day of the year is now in sight, and retailers plan to pull out all the stops to get your business.
We're talking Cyber Monday.
"Most are going to offer special deals literally every hour on something unique, something distinctive, or something that is a huge bargain," said Miro Copic, a professor of marketing at San Diego State University.
According to a survey done for the National Retail Federation, a record 85 percent of online retailers will offer special promotions on Cyber Monday. About four out of 10 will offer free shipping on all purchases that day. That's up from just 13 percent last year. Another 30 percent will offer free shipping when a certain dollar amount is reached.
"There's no question that one of shoppers' favorite deals is free shipping - in fact, many expect it - and retailers are responding," said Pam Goodfellow of BIGinsight which conducted the survey.
This seventh Cyber Monday should easily set a new e-commerce record with sales expected to hit $1.5 billion. That would be a 25 percent jump from last year's $1.2 billion.
That's still small when compared to the revenue generated at brick-and-mortar stores on Black Friday - $52 billion last year - but a big deal in the world of digital commerce.
"It's the only billion dollar online shopping day of the year," Prof. Copic noted. "There are a few days that approach that mark, but Cyber Monday is still the king of all online sales days throughout the year."
What do shoppers plan to buy on Monday?
A survey done by the online coupon site FatWallet.com shows that people are looking for deals on clothing (70 percent), computers and tablets (64 percent), toys (50 percent) and appliances (34 percent). They also hope to find discounts on HD televisions and smartphones.
How good are the Cyber Monday deals?
"In many cases, they're as good as or better than Black Friday discounts," said Dan de Grandpre, CEO of dealnews.com.
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