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 Millions of Americans logged on to e-commerce sites Monday to take
advantage of deals ranging from free shipping to hundreds of dollars
off electronics and half-price clothing on what was expected to be
the busiest Internet shopping day of the year. And many of those
purchases were made using mobile devices.
The spending surge associated with Cyber Monday came after a
disappointing Thanksgiving holiday weekend in stores. It also showed
that shoppers are increasingly comfortable buying on tablets and
smartphones.
Joel Anderson, president and CEO of Walmart.com, said 2013 would be
the "tipping point" for mobile shopping.
Early results indicated online shopping was up 17. 5 percent
compared with the same time last year, according to figures by IBM
Benchmark. Mobile devices accounted for more than 29 percent of all
online traffic.
Brandon Harris, 27, from Memphis, Tenn., started shopping at
midnight Sunday and by Monday had spent around $300 and completed
half of his Christmas shopping, including a Barbie doll for his
niece and a TV for his mother.
"I haven't shopped for a Christmas present in a store in three
years," he said, making purchases from his iPad instead. "It's a lot
more convenient to be at home and shop."
The National Retail Federation, a trade group, predicted that more
than 131 million people would shop online Monday, up about 2 percent
from last year. Meanwhile, UPS expected to pick up more than 32
million packages on Monday, about a million more than on the same
day last year.
Research firm comScore forecast Cyber Monday sales of $2 billion, up
from about $1.47 billion last year. Online sales account for about
10 percent of total holiday spending, which was projected to grow
about 3.9 percent to $602.1 billion for the months of November and
December.
Anderson predicted that Cyber Monday would be the site's busiest day
ever.
More than half of Walmart.com's traffic came from smartphones and
tablets on Thanksgiving and Black Friday. He expected the same to be
true on Monday.
"2013 is the year online went mobile," Anderson said.
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Arthur Baynes, 30, was checking out email deals on his smartphone.
The travel insurance claims adjuster from Richmond, Va., was looking
for a new TV and Blu-Ray games for his younger relatives.
"When I'm looking for something, I'll look it up on my phone and
then use the Amazon app on my iPad to buy," he said Monday. "It's
just easier. I don't have to sit down where my computer is."
Cyber Monday comes after retailers failed to boost spending during
the holiday weekend. They offered big discounts in early November,
and several opened stores on Thanksgiving Day. But the NRF predicted
that spending fell for the first time, down 2.9 percent to $57.4
billion, during the four days that ended Sunday.
About 81 percent of retailers planned to offer deals specifically
for Cyber Monday, according to the NRF's online arm, called Shop.org.
The name Cyber Monday was coined in 2005 by Shop.org to encourage
people to shop online. After retailers revved up deals for the day,
it became the busiest online shopping day in 2010.
But since then, retailers have expanded deals, stretching them into
Cyber Week or even Cyber Month. This year, retailers such as Amazon
and Wal-Mart rolled out online deals beginning in November.
Belus Capital management analyst Brian Sozzi said that will probably
become typical of the start of the holiday shopping season.
"The consumer has become immune to Cyber Monday and Cyber Week," he
said. "They just want the discounts continually once the calendar
hits November."
[Associated
Press; MAE ANDERSON, AP Retail Writer
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