29 Nov

Cyber Monday Is Here

Posted in News on 29.11.10 by John Meloche

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you are likely well aware that last Friday was “Black Friday”, the most frenzied shopping day of the year in the United States. Known to offer the most significant discounts on many of the most popular retail items, the day offers Americans and many Canadians crossing the border the opportunity to save big on their holiday shopping.

For the many other Canadians who did not join the mad rush at department stores and malls throughout the U.S. last Friday, today provides yet another opportunity to take advantage of big bargains. “Cyber Monday”, in fact, is an even more convenient way to save as consumers head to the almighty internet to look for the best deals offered all year.

As John Lentz and Alexandria Sage of Reuters report today, U.S. retailers are still hoping to cash in big after the crowds have cleared. They explain that “the Monday after the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday was dubbed Cyber Monday five years ago to get consumers to focus on online shopping. But retailers have been increasingly offering online deals on Thanksgiving Day and over the holiday weekend.”

Lentz and Sage go on to note that “Cyber Monday” has been known to generate between $900 million and $1 billion. Canadians, of course, are able to take advantage of such deals within the comfort of their own homes, by logging on to sites such as Overstock.com or Amazon.com to look into who is offering the best items at the lowest prices.

One of our Synergy reps couldn’t help but get in on the fun before coming into work today. “Even for some of the smaller gifts, it’s awesome,” he exclaimed, “I bought some DVD sets today that would have normally run me at least 30 or 40 bucks each. I basically got them at less than half price, and that included shipping and handling!”

Lentz and Sage note that many retailers are engaging in an online battle of sorts as they fiercely try to out-deal each other. Wal-Mart, for example, is offering free delivery of certain merchandise throughout the holidays. The world’s largest retailer is being joined by Best Buy as a company that is also allowing shoppers to buy online and pick up in person.

But just how popular is “Cyber Monday” compared to “Black Friday”? “I would expect Cyber Monday to be as strong as sales were this weekend,” said Maggie Taylor, a senior credit officer with Moody’s Investors Service.

Added Wall Street analyst, Hamed Khorsand in a note to investors: “The data does suggest that consumers are spending more time online this year with their spending plans, which would bode well for Amazon.”

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