BIG HOPES BUILDING FOR ‘CYBER MONDAY’
Retailers expect at least two more big chances to snag healthy holiday sales gains – starting with today’s “Cyber Monday” hustle of online shopping.
Experts say spending online will jump by 20 percent this season, nearing a record $30 billion in sales, according to comScore, which tracks the business.
“Online sales got off to a slow start this month, but surged 20 percent by mid-November,” said comScore’s chief executive Gian Fulgoni.
While Black Friday is traditional retail’s pivotal success marker, Cyber Monday has become a similarly crucial day for online businesses. Some shoppers forgo the Friday rush and wait to surf the Web today on their work computers, looking for deals.
One study said 46 percent of working Americans plan to shop for online bargains. “Cyber Monday will bring out ‘cubicle shoppers’ in full force,” said a study by Decision Analyst Inc., a research firm.
One retailer, Shopping.com, said traffic soared 35 percent alone in the past week, compared to a year earlier.
Meanwhile at store locations – where consumers will spend an estimated $400 billion this season – another brisk shopping day yesterday spurred optimism among merchants that holiday sales will blow past economist forecasts. Sales jumped an estimated 8.5 percent on Black Friday.
Next up for bargain hunters is the week before Christmas, when another wave of mega-markdowns is expected. That final week usually brings big discounts, with the hopes of a sales bonanza and rosy quarterly results for retailers.
Meanwhile, investors have been suddenly more bullish on the retail industry. They snapped up shares across the sector last week – from high-end department stores to discounters.
Until the rebound, shares of major retailers had lost $56 billion of their market value. But now investors are seeing upside rewards in many of these devalued stocks, analysts said.
A lot of online and in-store transactions this season included purchases of gift cards.
Americans plan to spend nearly a quarter of their budgets on gift cards, up sharply from 18 percent a year ago, said a survey by American Express. The most popular gift cards were for apparel, followed by DVDs and CDs. Toys and games were third most popular, the survey said.
The gift cards also bring more customers into stores after Christmas, which potentially will boost sales in the typically quiet post-holiday period.