Smart holiday shopping tips

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 21:22:00 GMT

Planning to give hot-ticket electronics gifts this year? You can shop smart by following a couple of steps you may not have considered yet, such as making your purchases at highly rated retailers, and trying your hand at haggling.

Buy online: In our report on where to buy electronics, Amazon.com, BHPhotoVideo.com, Globalmediapro, and Newegg.com all received strong marks from readers who responded to our electronics retailer survey. Those four were also standouts for shipping and home delivery.

Online sales on Cyber Monday

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 22:45:00 GMT

Shoppers seem to be just as enthusiastic about shopping on their computers and smartphones on "Cyber Monday" as they were about finding deals over the "Black Friday" weekend in the US.

Online sales on Cyber Monday, which was started in 2005 by a retail trade group to encourage Americans to shop online the Monday after Thanksgiving, were up early afternoon by 20 per cent from a year ago, according to data from IBM Benchmark.

At department stores, online sales were up 39 per cent, while they were up 24 per cent at apparel stores. Meanwhile, sales from mobile devices were up 8.5 per cent.

The group did not give dollar amounts.

The strong start for Cyber Monday, created by a unit of The National Retail Federation, comes after more people than ever turned out during the kickoff to the holiday shopping season over the weekend. A record 226 million shoppers visited stores and websites during the four-day holiday weekend starting on Thanksgiving Day, up from 212 million last year, according to the NRF.

And sales on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, rose 7 per cent to $11.4 billion, the largest amount ever spent, according to ShopperTrak, which gathers stores' data.

The numbers point to Americans' growing comfort with using their personal computers, tablet computers and smartphones to shop and retailers' efforts to capitalise on that. Over the years, big chains like Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, have been offering earlier promotions, hourly deals and free shipping to get consumers to spend online on the Monday after Thanksgiving.

The moves have worked. Last year, Cyber Monday sales topped $1 billion for the first time, making it the heaviest day of online spending ever. During this week's "Cyber Monday," the NRF says nearly 80 per cent of retailers plan to offer special promotions. And a record 122.9 million of Americans are expected to shop on the day, up from 106.9 million who shopped on "Cyber Monday" last year, according to a survey conducted for Shop.org.

By early afternoon on Monday, traffic was up about 46 per cent year-over-year at noon, according to Akamai, a firm that tracks Web traffic said. Traffic has been up substantially since the Monday before Thanksgiving as retailers promoted online deals earlier than ever, says Lelah Manz, chief strategist of commerce,

"There has been a huge volume of promotional activity being driven by daily deal sites, Facebook and other social networking sites," she says. "The season started much earlier, there has been a huge volume of promotional activity being driven by daily deal sites, Facebook and other social networking sites."

Jamie Minoso is among those who shopped online on Monday. She stayed in on the busy shopping day after "Black Friday," but hit websites on Monday to check out the deals on toys, electronics and pet products online.

"I do not enjoy the traffic and chaos involved in shopping at a mall," she says. "So, if I can get what I am looking for sent to my door for free, I will always take that option."

The sales promotions on the Monday after Thanksgiving got the name "Cyber Monday" from a retail trade group, which promoted the idea that people, upon returning to work, would log onto their computers there and shop. Globalmediapro reviews

-AP

People Are Motivated To Help Other People

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 03:57:00 GMT

According to the recent survey, 90% of 1300 surveyed say they write reviews to help others make better buying decisions, and more than 70% want to help companies improve the products they build and carry. Communicating the feel-good benefits of adding your voice to help others can be as effective motivators as discounts and contests.

A summary of the key findings below (US):

79% of US consumers have used the internet to find a local business in the last 12 months
71% of US consumers have consulted online customer reviews of local businesses
55% of US consumers trust a local business more after reading positive online reviews Younger consumers are more believing of online reviews than older consumers
50% of US consumers are more likely to use a local business having read positive online reviews
67% of US consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations

TongDIGGonline

Smart holiday shopping tips

Online sales on Cyber Monday

People Are Motivated To Help Other People