Waiting for Cyber Monday

Article by AP

NEW YORK (AP) – After a busy holiday weekend in shopping malls, millions of Americans are expected to log on and keep shopping on the day dubbed Cyber Monday.

That day, the Monday after Thanksgiving, has been the biggest online shopping day of the year since 2010. The day could take on added importance after a Thanksgiving weekend that saw fewer shoppers and lower spending than last year, according to some estimates.

Retailers have been pushing deals all month and particularly the past week, hoping to spur customers to spend. That may have taken away some spending from Thanksgiving weekend.

Research firm comScore expects people to spend about $2.5 billion on Cyber Monday.

There’s reason to think a lot of dollars are migrating online.

PayPal said its global mobile payment volume jumped 47 per cent on Thanksgiving Day compared with last year. Wal-Mart said it had more than 500 million page views on Thanksgiving, and eBay says it sold 2 000 iPad Air 2 tablets for $399 at a rate of one a second.

Amazon has been offering special deals since November 21, adding new discounts as often as every ten minutes for eight days straight. Deals include up to 45 per cent off some Samsung TVs and 28 percent off Beats by Dre headphones, selling for $275.

Wal-Mart said it has doubled its Cyber Week deals to 500 compared with last year, including up to half off some TVs, tablets and toys with free-shipping offers.

Toys R Us is offering online deals for 11 days that began the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and also has free-shipping offers. Cyberdeals include $15 off Disney Frozen Princess dolls that are regularly $50 and $20 off a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Battroborg Electronic Battle Game that is usually $80.

Cyber Monday comes after a weekend that saw 5.3 per cent fewer shoppers and 11 per cent less spending, according to estimates by the National Retail Federation.