Cyber Monday deals lure online shoppers

Amazon is a very hot point during Cyber Monday due to its awesome deals on electronics but this isn’t the only category that’s getting a wave of discounts.

Fewer people are venturing out into malls; and instead, are migrating to the web to do their holiday shopping.

Consumers spent half a billion dollars online for Cyber Monday by 10 a.m. EST, and total sales are expected to reach a record-breaking $3 billion, according to marketing firm Adobe Digital Index.

“U.S. consumers have turned into digital shopping ninjas this holiday season as retailers continue to adjust to a huge influx of smartphone shoppers”, she observed. Frenzied crowds seemed to be a thing of the past on Black Friday – the busy shopping day after Thanksgiving.

It’s the 10th year for Cyber Monday.

“I think it will expand and there will be Cyber Monday deals for a longer period of time”, he noted. And, in the past, when Wal-Mart released select Cyber Monday deals on Sunday evening, traffic increased significantly, it said. Many shoppers still enjoy Black Friday for the tradition, but many others have given up leaving their homes when they can get just about the same deals online on Cyber Monday. “We know that many people are shopping online, many people are using their phones to buy products”. Mulraney says, “When I try to go on early in the day there’s such an overload on the computers it’s hard to get through”.

“For holiday shopping this year, it will be a plough horse moving slowly but steadily, rather than a flying reindeer”, said Brian Wesbury, chief economist with Illinois-based First Trust Portfolios.

USA online sales grew 14% on Cyber Monday, on track to set a record, leading some retail websites, like Target Corp’s, to crash temporarily due to high customer traffic.

Above: Many online shoppers saw this message at Target.com Monday morning.

That tops Black Friday’s estimated online haul of $2.7 billion, which was up 15 percent from 2014.

Experian predicts that Cyber Monday, occurring today (November 30) – traditionally when consumers look for more online shopping deals – will see another £943 million in purchases: up 31% on previous year. The company is offering up to 50% off on “more than 50 new, one-day deals” with additional deals being revealed each day from December 1 through December 5.

“A big Cyber Monday, the schools are off, we’re able to drive our sales in the building, too”.

Diane Boral, 33, from Oxnard, California, scoured sites for deals ranging from 20 percent to 75 percent off and ended up buying toys, games and clothes at Kohl’s site, which offered free shipping and 20 percent off. Most are only discounted about 25 percent. Employees rushed to their workplace on Monday in order to shop on super fast leased lines.