| News about digital retail commerce |  |
| E-commerce Holiday Update |  |  | | - Wal-Mart, other retailers get generous with holiday returns
Fourteen retailers have extended the amount of time they'll allow for holiday returns on online purchases, including Wal-Mart which will give consumers 90 days from Dec. 26 to return merchandise. Generous return policies tend to spur impulse buying, says analyst Kylee Magno. "I personally look for retailers that have a more lenient return policy at the holidays because I don't want to give a gift that someone will have trouble returning." InternetRetailer.com (11/23)      - Cyber Monday buzz builds biggest for Amazon
Amazon had the most online buzz related to Cyber Monday by midday Monday, followed by Target, Wal-Mart Stores, Best Buy and Old Navy, according to data compiled by Collective Intellect. The firm continuously monitored Twitter, Facebook, blogs and other social media for mentions of 20 top retailers. CNBC/Consumer Nation blog (11/28)  | Logistics is much more than the movement of goods and services. It's also your pre-game strategy. Before you step on the court, you need the right players running the right plays at the right time. Learn more about those key plays in this free whitepaper from UPS and get in the game of logistics. | | Seasonal Trends | | | | - Cyber Monday grows into its name: The Monday after Thanksgiving went centuries without a nickname until it was dubbed "Cyber Monday" in 2005. With the rise of online sales, the day lives up to its name -- consumers were expected to spend $1.2 billion online on Monday, according to comScore. The New York Times (tiered subscription model) (11/28)
- Merchants aim for a week of Cyber Mondays: Retailers including Amazon and Wal-Mart are extending their Cyber Monday promotions throughout the week, hoping to keep the momentum going. Online sales rose 18% Monday compared to the same day last year, and consumers spent an estimated $1.2 billion online. United Press International (11/29)
- Shoppers use new apps to save this season
New mobile applications such as ShopSavvy are helping bargain-hunting shoppers in their quest to find the lowest prices, allowing them to scan products in-store to find the best price online. Experts advise consumers to check the store's price-matching policy, though, before they click to buy on the Internet. CBS News (11/29)  | Improve Holiday Sales Results with Tools from Akamai!
Now is the perfect time to ensure your website will hold up to the rush of holiday shoppers headed your way. With the challenges facing retailers this holiday shopping season, it's never too soon to focus. Download Akamai's Holiday Toolkit now! | | Resources | | | | - Black Friday weekend spending reaches record $52 billion
This year was one for the books as a record 226 million shoppers visited stores and websites over Black Friday weekend, up from 212 million last year. Digging deep into their holiday budgets, the average holiday shopper spent $398.62 this weekend, up from $365.34 last year with total spending estimated at $52.4 billion. Additionally, shoppers also checked out retailers' deals online, spending an average of $150.53 on the Web -- 37.8% of their total weekend spending. Read more. - More than 122 million planned to shop on Cyber Monday
Online shopping continues to win over millions of Americans this holiday season, with a record number who planned to hit retailers' websites on Cyber Monday to take advantage of one-day only deals, website-wide savings, and free shipping offers. According to a survey conducted for Shop.org by BIGresearch, 122.9 million Americans planned to shop on Cyber Monday this year, up from the 106.9 million who shopped on Cyber Monday in 2010. Eager to meet consumers' demands, nearly eight in ten retailers planned to offer a special promotion for Cyber Monday, according to a survey released last week. Read more. | | |
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