Guest Post: Cyber Monday: What to Buy & How to Save

by

Andrea Woroch

While Black Friday gets all the headlines, Cyber Monday quietly steals the show as the biggest online shopping day of the year. In 2014, the event pulled in over $2 billion in e-sales and became the heaviest day of online spending in history. Comparatively, Black Friday pulled in 30-percent less in online sales last year.

With an overwhelming number of online deals, knowing where to find the best prices and tracking hourly sales is tricky. Here are some tips to get the most use from your digital dollar.

Best Cyber Monday Buys

• Apparel: Look for free shipping offers plus site-wide savings of up to 60 percent from a host of apparel brands including Express, Carter's, Joe's Jeans, Kenneth Cole, J. Jill and more.
• Shoes: Like apparel, shoes are a popular Cyber Monday deal with stores like Famous Footwear offering the deepest discounts of the year. Look for free delivery as well as BOGO savings from online shoe stores.
• Toys: Experts agree toys are a better buy after Black Friday, with brands like Mattel and Fisher-Price offering delivery deals and site-wide sales of up to 30-percent off.
• Beauty Products: Stock up on cosmetics and skincare items at a discount for yourself and as gifts. In addition to deals from specialty retailers like Sephora and Ulta, look for savings from specific beauty brands like Clinique.
• Travel: An oft-overlooked deal on Cyber Monday, hotels, airlines, booking sites and other travel companies woo customers with discounts. For example, Starwood Hotels and Resorts is already offering savings of up to 50 percent on over 1,00 properties (blackout dates apply), while Red Roof Inn is offering up to 30-percent off stays through March 31, 2016.

Cyber Monday Shopping Tips

• Shop Safe: Never use public Wifi for online shopping as hackers can easily steal your payment info. Check the reputability of the sites you're shopping with at ResellerRatings.com or BizRate.com.
• Take Advantage of Early Savings: Walmart is launching its Cyber Monday deals starting at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, Nov. 29, while Target is continuing its 10 Days of Deals through Dec. 1. Start browsing on Sunday and snag early-bird deals. Plus, fill up your cart with coveted items and store payment info for quick checkout.
• Know Price Histories: Like brick-and-mortar stores, online retailers will often inflate the original cost of an item to make their CyberMonday discount seem like a steal. Use Pricespider.com to ensure you're getting a good deal, and try CamelCamelCamel.com for price histories of products sold by Amazon.
• Compare Offers: Find a comprehensive list of Cyber Monday deals and promo codes at sites like CouponSherpa.com which aggregates top deals all in one spot for fast reference.
• Think Fast with Doorbusters: If you've got an online doorbuster on your list, don't let it languish in your shopping cart while you browse for other products. It might be gone when you're ready to check out. Buy it immediately, then head back to shop for other items.
• Review Return Policies: Review return policies so there's no surprise fees if you're dissatisfied with a purchase. You can snag free return shipping when you checkout with your PayPal account, or enjoy a no-risk money guarantee plus free shipping both ways from eBay.

Andrea Woroch is a money-saving expert who transforms everyday consumers into savvy shoppers by sharing smart spending tips and personal finance advice. As a sought-after media source, she has been featured among such top news outlets as Good Morning America, Today, CNN, Dr. OZ, New York Times, MONEY Magazine, Consumer Reports, Forbes and many more. In addition, Andrea's stories have been published among leading publications and sites such as Yahoo!, AOL Daily Finance, CNN.com, Huffington Post, LearnVest and New York Daily News. Check out Andrea's demo reel or visit her website at AndreaWoroch.com for more information about booking an interview or requesting an original written article. You can also follow her on Twitter or Facebook for daily money tips.

Half of American Workers Will Shop Online at Work this Holiday Season - CareerBuilder Internet Usage Survey

 Cyber Monday broke online sales records last year, and according to CareerBuilder’s latest survey, the trend may be poised to continue. Fifty percent of American workers plan to spend time holiday shopping online at work this season – down slightly from 52 percent last year. Of these workers, 34 percent will spend one hour or more shopping (up from 27 percent in 2010) and 16 percent will spend two or more hours (up from 13 percent in 2010).

The survey – conducted August 16 through September 8, 2011, among 4,384 workers and 2,696 employers – points to a larger trend of increased, non-work related Internet activity met with steadily tightening online policies on the employer side. Half of U.S. companies monitor Internet and email use of employees, which is up from 47 percent last year.
“Most companies assume their employees use some of their break time on the Internet for shopping, checking social networks, and other general browsing, but when it starts adding up, workers need to be aware of company policies and any potential consequences,” said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder. “With more companies limiting or restricting online activity, e-shopping season is as good a time as any to be mindful of our Internet usage at work.”

General Internet Usage
Two-thirds (65 percent) of workers spend at least sometime conducting non-work related web searches in a typical workday; 22 percent find themselves conducting non-work related web searches.
•       22 percent of employers have fired someone for using the Internet for non-work related activity – on par with 2010.
•       7 percent of human resource managers surveyed have fired an employee for holiday shopping.
•       54 percent of employers block employees from accessing certain websites – up from 50 percent in 2010.

Social Media Usage
More than half (56 percent) of workers on social networks check their profiles during their typical work days – up from 49 percent in 2010. Of this group, around one in seven spends at least one hour a day browsing.

Workers need to be especially careful of what they post about their company publicly.
•       One-third (32 percent) of employers prohibit employees from communicating about the company on social media.
•       25 percent of employers report adopting stricter policies during the last year in regard to employees communicating about company on social media.

Personal Email Usage
Sixty-one percent of workers send non-work related emails during their typical workday – up slightly from 59 percent in 2010. Nineteen percent send more than five personal emails a day.
•       28 percent of employers monitor emails – on par with 2010.
•       8 percent of employers report having fired someone for non-work related emails.

Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive© on behalf of CareerBuilder among 2,696 U.S. hiring managers and human resource professionals and 4,384 U.S. workers (employed full-time, not self-employed, non-government) ages 18 and over between August 16 and September 8, 2011 (percentages for some questions are based on a subset, based on their responses to certain questions). With pure probability samples of 4,384 and 2,696, one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/-1.48 and +/-1.89 percentage points, respectively. Sampling error for data from sub-samples is higher and varies.

Cyber Monday Special

This Cyber Monday, November 29th, several incredible sites, with gifts for just about everyone on your list, are offering online discounts!

Essential Journeys (www.essentialjourneys.com) is the perfect present place for women of any age as well as the eco-conscious people in your life.  Essential Journeys is a handcrafted, handmade soap, lotion and lip lube company.  These are not just beauty products, they truly are beautiful.  And they come in all shapes, colors and scents.  Plus, the lotion is all-natural, the soap is vegan and the lip lube is made from natural bees wax.  On Cyber Monday, Essential Journeys will offer free shipping with the coupon code: CYBERFREESHIP  

The Friendship Stone (www.thefriendshipstone.com) is a unique and meaningful gift.  The semi-precious Tiger’s Eye stone are hand-picked from South Africa.  No two stones are alike, just like our friendships and relationships.  The stones are a concrete and symbolic reminder of the people that impact your life.  The stones can be carried in your purse or pocket, or you can get necklaces.  On Cyber Monday, The Friendship Stone is offering 15% off everything with the coupon code: CYBER  

Blamtastic (www.blamtastic.com) is the perfect stocking stuffer.  The lip balm was created by two young sisters.  It comes in flavors and colors both boys and girls will love.  And mom will love the SPF 15.  Plus, you get a really cool sleeve for your “blam” so it can hook onto backpacks, notebooks, purses and more.  On Cyber Monday, Blamtastic is giving all shoppers free shipping!