Tag Archives: cyber monday

Cyber Monday On the Rise

cyber mondayWe have heard a lot of noise about the “Death of Black Friday” this year. Is that true?

I think it’s all relative. It’s still a huge shopping day, but maybe not as big as in the past. Why? I think shoppers are tiring of the hassle, and retailers are tiring of the negative headlines. Stores have taken steps to spread out the deals over a number of days (opening on Thanksgiving has taken a toll), and limit the doorbusters – often flashpoints for inter-shopper conflict.

One thing we can say for sure is that, this year, Cyber Monday has edged out Black Friday for the first time. Apparently, as NBC News cleverly put it: “We would rather be Online than stand IN line!”…

  • 151 million of us went shopping in total this past weekend
  • 103 million of us shopped online,
  • 102 million went to the physical stores
  • 94 million of us didn’t shop at all (including ME.)
  • We spent an average of $299 this past weekend, 2/3 of that on gifts
  • We spent $1.8 billion on Thanksgiving Day
  • We spent another $10.4 billion on Black Friday
  • Sales were down 1.5% in stores
  • Spending per shopper was down 1.4%
  • We spent $3 billion on line on Cyber Monday
  • That’s an increase of 12%
  • This year’s Gotta Have item: big screen TVs!

Read more fun facts here! Personally, I can see the benefits of the Cyber Monday thing. I have participated in the past, but never in gift-giving mode. Typically, I have been needing a new laptop for 3 or 4 months, and Cyber Monday is when I pull the trigger. I have saved hundreds of bucks, for sure, and all from the comfort of home.

How about you? Are your holiday shopping habits changing? Is Black Friday still fun, or is it losing its charm? Are you steering more toward Cyber Monday these days? Let us know over at the MindField Online Facebook page!

Online Holiday Shopping Tips!

Um, yeah…let’s not, OK?

As we noted last time, Black Friday is approaching (way to look at a calendar, genius!) It’s a tradition that has undergone some change in the past few years. The deals have crept backwards in time, encroaching on Thanksgiving itself. Now we have Cyber Monday for the online shoppers. And the entire weekend in between is littered with deals, as well.

So, when do YOU hit the digital battlefield? That depends on what you’re after. Thankfully, the folks at DealNews.com have scoured their archives to note what items are the best deal online on which day. Here is a much-compressed list…

Thanksgiving Day/Evening: Smartphones, HDTVs and Gaming Items

Black Friday: Laptops, Computers,  Storage (like flash drives, etc.), iPhones and Kitchenware

The Weekend between Black Friday and Cyber Monday: Tools and appliances

Cyber Monday: Clothing and shoes

MUCH more detail at the original article, so check it out! So, what’s on your shopping list this holiday season? Do you shop online, hit the mall or both? Let us know over at the MindField Online Facebook page!

November Deals!

SavingsThe madness begins. In a few short weeks you will be strapping on your armor and heading into the mouth of madness known as black Friday. And, as we noted yesterday, Black Friday is six days later this year, meaning that the holiday shopping season is cut short by nearly a week. So, if you want to get a jump on things, here is a list of links to tell you where the deals are this November. Enjoy!

End-of-year car deals

A lot of Halloween-expiring deals, but also several that last through the weekend and beyond

November travel deals

November deals on “Weddings, Tools and More” from the Wall Street Journal

Deals & Bargains in November from CBS News

The Best and Worst Things to Buy in November from DealNews

Online tech retailer Newegg announces “Black November”

Insider article on the types of deals to look for in November

So, are you ready to rock? Do you know of other good deals? Let us know at the MindField Online Facebook page! And have a great weekend!

Online Shopping, Credit Card Use On the Rise

Extreme Online Shopping: It's RADICAL!

Black Friday is a time-honored shopping tradition. In recent years, Black Friday had a baby named Cyber Monday. And this year it was a BIG baby! This year…

Cyber Monday (was) the heaviest online spending day on record, with $1.25 billion in sales.  Tuesday and Wednesday followed with billion dollar spending days, helping Cyber Week reach a record weekly total of nearly $6 billion in spending.  Consumer Affairs

So far this season, we have spent almost $19 billion online, an increase of 15% over last year. So, great, we’re spending again – that’s got to be good news for the economy, right? Well, maybe and maybe not. It seems that we’re doing a lot of that spending using our credit cards. Credit card spending is up 7.4 %, while debit card use is up only 3.4%. Will we pay off those credit card purchases, or will we let ‘em ride? That’s the question! Paying them off is usually a sign of consumer confidence – which has been in short supply lately!

So, how about you? Have you increased your online buying this year? What makes you choose one retailer over another? Are you using more credit or debit? Let us know!