So, yes, unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 4 days, (or so sated from the Thanksgiving Gorge that you’ve hardly been able to get out of the easy chair), the Thanksgiving 4-day weekend is also the weekend of Big Holiday Sales for retailers nationwide.
Even Videomaker got into the Black Friday – Cyber Monday act, offering bundles of some of our more popular videos, eDocs and DVDs. In addition to the savings on the bundles, you can get 50% off all of our digital downloads, and 30% off all of our DVDs and DVD-ROMs. https://www.videomaker.com/l/blackfriday, check them out, the sale is still going on today.
Out of curiosity, I did the 4 A.M. Day After Thanksgiving cruise around town, to see what it looked like. The streets in our town were as packed as during the 5:00 evening commute, and the mall parking lot was so full that people were parking on the nearby neighborhood streets. Since I’m one of those people who does all their Holiday shopping before Thanksgiving, I only went to satisfy my curiosity, but I did pick up a Blu-ray player for a killer price.
I did a quick bit of research this morning to see what they’ve been saying about the sales and the reports were all over the place; some were gloom-n-doom, others saying retailers saw a noticeable difference from last year. Either way, the number one toy for kids is the Zhu-Zhu Pets collection. (Zoo-Zoo) these are robotic hamsters, if you can believe that, that are all the rage. For bigger kids and adults, video games and electronics are the gift of choice this year, no big surprise there. The Consumer Electronics Associations annual survey found that high-definition televisions, digital cameras and Blu-ray movie players were the top attractions.
About 96.5 million Americans plan to shop online today, up from 85 million in 2008, according to the National Retail Federation. Cyber Monday is so-called because most people shop online at work, rather than home, due to faster internet speeds. (Hello… are YOU working… or shopping!?!?)
Shop.org said, “Today, Cyber Monday is viewed as the ceremonial kickoff to the online holiday shopping season, when shoppers flood websites expecting robust promotions and many retailers highlight some of their most compelling holiday offers.” The true busiest days, though, will be around December 11 to the 17th, which are the cut off dates for many companies that will guarantee shipment by Christmas Day.
If you do plan to do some online shopping, (and who doesn’t nowadays), read up on some tips offered from McAfee Security called “12 Scams of the Holidays“.
And read our “Buyer Beware” article that gives you some good advice for camcorder shopping online. Remember; never put your credit card in an online receptacle you don’t trust.