South Asian Business news and information

Marry Christmas once again

Enjoy your shopping

Don’t go insane

It’s a lousy poem but I think these words best describe Cyber Monday or Black Friday. I was overwhelmed by the amount of information and the huge hype that is created by the retailers and the media in USA about Cyber Monday. Being a resident of  a third world country capital city where there are two or three small markets or shopping malls in one kilometer that becomes over crowded during the Eid Festival, I can picture the excitement and frenzy among the people living in USA.  

Cyber Monday:
For the past couple of years, a huge hoopla has been created about Cyber Monday; the first Monday after Black Friday. The term is coined by Shop.org, the online division of the National Retail Federation, to describe the sudden rise in online buying on that day. In 2004, on this very day, majority (77%) of the online retailers saw a drastic increase in their sales. The term took an official form in 2005.

The typical Black Friday which is related to traditional shopping that is going to the shops, standing on the long que and endless bargaining is too much for the hectic lifestyle of American people. Moreover, the easy availability of high speed internet has catalyzed the trend. Now, a person does not have to wake up at dawn and stand in the ques to buy his favorite products at a discount rate. He/she can log on to the website, buy the desired product, and get it without any hassle. This is the beauty of online shopping that has contributed behind the spike.

Online shopping in previous years:

• People have now become smarter about finding products on the net. According to Gifts.com, the number of visitors on Cyber Monday has increased three times in 2006 in comparison to 2005. 
• From 2005 till now, around one million people have stopped shopping going to the stores and Cyber Monday attracted two million people last year.
• Many shoppers were willing to pay the expedited shipping price.
• In 2006, Cyber Monday sales generated $607.6 million which makes it the 12 the biggest shopping day. The biggest shoping day was December 13^th ($667 million).    

Cyber Monday in 2007:

• On November 19, the National Retail Federation (NRF) released a survey that was conducted on 116 retailers. The result says that 75% of the internet retailers will give out various offers on internet. Among them, 72% will have special offers and 43% will give offers that they had been giving for the last two years.
• According to the NRF survey, on Cyber Monday, 32% of the internet retailers will start e-mail campaign and 28.9% retailers will have one day sales and 29.9% will have specific deals. 29 of the 116 internet retailers will give free shipment deals on product purchase. Many retailers are not offering anything special online because they think that online buying itself as a sufficient promotional incentive.
• This year, retailers are afraid that the downward trend of economy will make people spend less money. So, this year, their plan is to hook up as many customers as possible in a short time. To attract more buyers, many retailers are starting their sales at an earlier date.     
• 42% of adults will shop online in 2007, which was 40% in last year. The percentage of female shoppers will be 41%. In 2006, it was 37%. Among the online shoppers 48% said that they would shop online for convenience, 17% to avoid the stressful shopping process and 12% for better selection, and 11% for better prices.
• According to a shopping survey conducted by AOL, three out of four internet users will buy products online. 74% of the shoppers shop online and 26% will spend half of their budget money buying products online. Another interesting finding of this survey is that people who would buy gifts from a bricks-and-mortar store would compare prices on internet.
• Sophos Inc, a Massachusetts based security and control solutions provider, conducted a poll on 230 people revealed that 73% of the respondents are going to shop online.
• Revenue Today Magazine reports:

Reports say that 30 percent of U.S. shoppers will do more of their holiday shopping online this year, as compared to the 2006 holiday season. According to the survey, conducted by Vizu, a market research company, and sponsored by buySAFE, 46 percent of respondents would rather shop online for the holiday season than face the hassle of malls or pay the high cost of gas.

• Helen Malani, chief shopping expert, Shopzilla.com, a reputed comparison shopping service, said that nearly nearly 60% of the nation’s shoppers will purchase gifts online this year.
• Compared to 2006, the online shopping would grow by 21 pecent and four out of ten consumers will spend more than $300.
• This year more people will spend money in buying apparel, accessories and gift cards.
• Forrester Research says that Americans will spend $33 billion in online shopping in 2007 compared to $27 billion in 2006.

Cyber Monday online retailers: who is offering what?

While browsing the net, I came across various websites selling products online. Here is a list of them:   

Fabulous savings: This Toronto based interent market company has lined up various products with special deals. Check out their pages:

http://www.fabuloussavings.com/html/special_event.php?city_id=2

http://www.fabuloussavings.com/html/special_event_cm.php?city_id=2

Cybermonday: Launched by shop.org in November 2006, this website received 300,000 hits (500,000 hits according to picturebusinessmag). The site now contains 550 interent retailers and promotes a wide range of products. With the arriving holiday season the website has added new features. Picture Business Mag reports:

An option for shoppers to sign up to receive the best offers from retailers via email every Monday.

RSS feeds that provide up-to-the-minute updates on deals, discounts and

promotions.

Dedicated pages highlighting retailers with free shipping offers, gift cards,

and a holiday-themed page

Network for Good: If you are a charity person then this website is the best place for giving your money to help other people.

Toysrus: One of the largest toy retail shops in the world, Toysrus has given out many special deals for holiday. The offers started on 22^nd November and will continue till Cyber Monday, 26^th November. The offers include online saving on 60 items, 90 exclusive deals, free shipping, 20% off for using PayPal on Cyber Monday.

Bergdorf Goodman: 65% off on men’s clothes such as Giorgio Armani sport coats and Ermenegildo ties.

Ron Herman: This retail shop is offering 30% off on women's wear for online customers.

Sephora.com & LL Bean: Famous clothing and outdoor recreating equipment company, LL Bean and cosmetics and frangrance producer Sephora are offering free shipping on any purchase on Cyber Monday.

Neiman Marcus:  This famous specialty department store is offering 50% to 60% discount on clothes designed by Anne Klein and Phillip Lim.

Ann Taylor: Another renowned retail chain shop that sells women’s clothes is offering free shipping on all online purchases on Cyber Monday.

Buy.com: This retail electronics is shop is giving 10% discount on Cannon's Powershot G9 12 Megapixel, and Toshiba Satellitte L45-S7419 laptops.

Red Stamp: An online stationary shop, Red Stamp is offering 10% discount on all items + free shipping deals on all purchase. You have to enter the promotional code “HOLLYDAYFB.” For boxed holiday cards designed by Anne Taintor and B Designs you will recieve 20% to 30% discount.

Yoox.com: This online clothe retailer is offering 20% discount on all the products in its catalogue which includes clothes designed by Versace, Stella McCartney, Valentino, Alexander McQueen and Proenza Schouler.

A Perfect Wallet: Are you looking for companies that sells personalized gifts? Well, stop looking and visit this website. A Perfect Wallet sells personalized gifts like engraved key rings, wallets, money clips and a wide range of corporate gifts. If you want to return the gift, no problem, even after one year from your purchase you can return the gift.  In case of engraved gifts, you will get your refund even if you misspell the names. You can chose from 1000 personalized gifts.

Other important websites:

http://www.dealcatcher.com/

http://slickdeals.net/

http://dealofday.com/

http://bensbargains.net/: referred by many internet specialists.

1. Playstation 3
2. iPod
3. Uggs.
4. Samsung Progressive-HD Camcorder
5. UGG Australian Classic Crochet Boots
6. Sam Godfrey Perfect Endings Cupcakes
7. Williams-Sonoma Mixing Bowls, Measuring Cups and Spoons
8. The Artisan Stand Mixer from KitchenAid
9. “Planet Earth” DVD
10. Kai Body Butter and Buffer with soap
11. Clarisonic Skin Care System
12. Jumbo Soaps (set of 3)
13. “Pillars of the Earth” book autographed by author Ken Follet
14. Breville Panini Press
15. LG Refrigerator (with built-in TV and other extras)
16. Ciao Bella Ice Cream
17. Rachel Pally Outfit
18. Scrabble Premier Edition
19. United Artists Collection Book, including 90 DVDs
20. “O’s Guide To Life” book, autographed by Oprah Winfrey
21. Target Gift Card
22. Shaklee Get Clean Starter Kit
23. Josh Groban CD, ‘Noel’
24. Hallmark Red Gift Wrap and Cards
25.  Verizon broadband wireless acess ($69 per month)
26. Wifi Detective
27. Timex iControl
28. Otterbox Defender iPhone case
29. Able Planet's Noise Cancelling Headphones
30. TeleNav GPS Navigator (unlimited navigation service for one year only in $99)

Bad side of Cyber Monday

• Slack in employee productivity: In a survey conducted by Big Research, a consumer market intelligence firm, 68.5 million office workers will shop while they are working this year. In 2006, it was 51% and 45% in 2005. Among these people 57% are men and 52% and 73% are young adults.
• Career.com conducted an online survey on the workers which found out that about one in three office workers would remain busy shopping online in their work. One fourth of those workers would spend at least two hours. Two thirds of the workers surveyed admitted of using internet for reasons other than their work. One in four of these workers spend at least more than one hour everyday on internet. 
• Online Fraud: A major headache for Cyer Monday online shoppers and retailers: No doubt, buying products from home is very comfortable and it saves your time, money and energy but online shopping is not so simple. Since, online shopping is on the rise, cyber criminals will become very active. According to the annual study of Cyber Source, a software company that develops software for electronic payment and fraud management technologies and services, the loss of cyber fraud will be $3.6 billion this year which was 3.1 billion last year. The good thing is that the amount of fraudulent transactions will remain the same but it would take more people and machine to check them for the increase in online shopping.
• The worst thing is that there will be no change among the consumers. Famous anti-spyware and security software producer, Webroot, conducted a research survey on 3,626 people in six countries. The result came out that almost 70% of the respondents have not taken any serious steps to secure themselves, 20% will alter their online shopping behavior and 30 percent will not check their credit reports to see if they have a problem.
• Failure in sending the products: Another major problem in case of online shopping is that the buyer is chosing and buying the product without seeing anyone. If there is a defect in the product or it was damaged during shipping, the buyer can not talk to anyone. This is a major problem for online shopping which makes it very sensitive. According to a shopping survey conducted by Vizu, a San Francisco based marketing research firm, and sponsored by Buy Safe, a bonded shopping sight, reveals that 50% of the respondents faced one serious problem while shopping online and one third had three or more problems.

Suggestions to the retailers for successful business on Cyber Monday:

• Move your excessive products: In the form of gift, you just give out the excessive products before the price mark down.
• Be reliable: The Vizu & Buy Safe shopping survey revealed that 48% of the respondents consider retailer performance (sending the item on time, honoring their policies etc), 37.5% is price, 8.7% amount of selection, and 5.8% ease of transaction as the most important factor behind chosing their retailers.

Suggestion to the shoppers for sucessful shopping on Cyber Monday:

Here are some tips WBKO offers to the online shoppers of Cyber Monday:

• Stick with a budget and only buy what you need this holiday season.
• Also compare prices, because some of the savings claimed may not be as great as they sound.
• Watch for fraud and never give out Social Security numbers, birth dates or mother's maiden names.
• And as with any purchase, find of the return of exchange policy before you order.
• Lastly, don't wait for a statement. Check your account, credit card or bank statements for abnormal behavior.

With the risk of theft and fraudulent activities on the rise with Cyber Monday, Boston Biz Journal gives you some easy steps to protect yourself on Internet:

• Read website privacy policies and procedures to ensure appropriate measures are in place.
• Only buy from reputed sites
• Do not follow links from unsolicited emails
• Never enter sensitive information from an Internet cafe or machine that you do not know to have a fully up-to-date security policy
• Protect your password

WCNC:

1. Sign up for e-mail alerts and notifications from your favorite online retailers. And here's why this year retailers can't send out special promotions fast enough. October was not as promising as they hoped, so retailers are sending discounts right to your inbox as long as you are signed up to receive them. The National Retail Federation says e-mail campaigns will make up 32 percent of all promotions.

2. Comparison shop. Here are some links that can help you do this. All you have to do is enter the product name or type:

google.com

mysimon.com

pricegrabber.com

3. Once you find the lowest price, look for more discounts by using special promotions offers and discounts. Check your inbox for alerts and check out these sites for even more discounts you can apply to your final sale:

retailmenot.com

couponcabin.com

couponmountain.com

4. Check out CyberMonday.com to see if you can find even more savings. This site is put together by promoters of Cyber Monday - they claim to have exclusive discounts for more than 500 retailers.

5. Deals of America (dealsofamerica.com) is worth book-marking and checking in on every single day. It searches the Web for the best deals out there. I'm a believer and so is one of our WCNC producers - we've found great deals on this site.

6. And remember, cyber safety first in the frenzy of getting good discounts: shop with retailers you trust. And remember you can check out any business' reputation by logging onto the Better Business Bureau's Web site at bbb.org.

7. Pay with a credit card that offers protection for purchases that don't measure up or never show up. A charge back is a powerful thing.

In the end, I would like to say Christmas is not all about buying gifts and shopping. Do not over spend your money. If you have limited income and you want to buy something, then first think if that object would fulfill your need. So many things and so many choices and so many offers but you do not need all of them. Make intelligent choices. WISH YOU ALL A MARRY CHRISTMAS!

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Useful Links:

http://www.wcnc.com/consumer/stories/wcnc-112107-krg-cybermonday.25bc43ae.html

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