News In Brief

Cyber Monday: Shoppers surf the Web for savings, free shipping offers

Jaclyn Giovis Nov 29, 2010

Holiday savings are just a click away for online shoppers today.

After a busy weekend at stores, retailers today are making their big online sales push, and consumers will flock to Web sites at their workplace for so-called Cyber Monday.

Retailers are offering savings on top of free shipping for online purchases. Web sites such as Amazon.com and Overstock.com are slashing prices on hot electronic items ranging from vehicle GPS systems to laptops. Some of the deals are in limited supply, and some products already are sold out.

Online shopping is becoming more popular with shoppers. About one-third of online shoppers say they’ll make more of their holiday purchases on the web this year, according to Shop.org’s eHoliday Study. Consumers listed 24-hour convenience, easy price comparisons and a lack of desire to fight the crowds among the main reasons why they’re shifting a portion of their spending.

“In addition to using websites to bring in sales, retailers are leveraging the internet to encourage shoppers to head to nearby stores, featuring store locator information, product availability, and store circulars on their websites,” Shop.org’s head of research Fiona Swerdlow said in a written statement.

And the retailers have a good feeling their sales efforts will pay off. Nearly two-thirds of retailers, about 63.8 percent, expect their online sales to grow by 15 percent or more compared to last holiday season, the Shop.org survey found. Last year, less than half of retailers surveyed had those expectations.

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