(KATV) Black Friday has come
and gone, small business Saturday is behind us and today it's cyber Monday turn.
This year's Cyber Monday
is expected to be the biggest online shopping day of the year. One data
tracking firm estimates sales to reach $1.5 billion nationwide.
The brick and mortar
stores still have deals, but clothing seems to be where the biggest bang for
your buck is online Monday.
Cyber Monday is one
of a series of days to jumpstart the holiday shopping season. Josh Mayville
says it's basically Black Friday all over again, a second chance. "So we offer
them every opportunity for them to browse online and come in the store."
Employees at RK Collections
hand pick every item that makes it in the store and shipments are arriving
daily. Monday, online items are going for 50-percent off. They upload pictures
on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter so fans will share with potential
new clients across the globe and it's working. In the past week, they have sent
shipments to Egypt, Pakistan, India and the Netherlands. To stay ahead they
also send emails, text and make personal calls daily.
Mayville adds, "Some
of the designers and brands we carry here at RK Collections, they carry at
Macy's and Dillard's so we do have to compete with that so we have to venture
out into the tech world and really venture out and see what we can get with
that."
At the UPS store in
the heights, small businesses racking in orders and keeping them on their feet
with shipments, trucks are doubling pick up times, they have extended hours and
additional staff to keep up.
Owner Vince Powell
says they ship it all. "We've shipped a canoe and we have even shipped a
car."
They're even in the
gift wrapping business, trying to cater to your every need. "You can bring your
presents here and we'll gift wrap and pack and ship them where they need to
go."
The National Retail Federation
estimates sales from November and December will be up 4.1% and that comes out
to about $586 billion.
Click Here to see RK Collections website.
Get $15 off when you spend $50 or more (coupon code Cyber50)
Get $40 off when you spend $100 or more (coupon code Cyber100)
Get $100 off when you spend $200 or more (coupon code Cyber200)
Get $150 off when you spend $300 or more (coupon code Cyber300)
Cyber Shopping Tips:
If you add words like
"cheap" or "discount" to your search, it doubles your
chances of being lured to a counterfeit site.
If it's a site your
not familiar with do a review search (just search review with the name of the
business or product). For example, Pricegrabber.com compares prices and users' comments for retail websites, and Google Product Search, slickdeals.net and dealews.com monitor retailers, site performance, possible issues and deals.
It is also smart to use a credit card not debit card. If you're
shopping at multiple sites, you can use a "one-time" credit card number from a payment processor such as
PayPal.
Use a secure site. In
the address bar, look for "https" at the beginning and a yellow padlock logo to
the right of the Web browser address bar. Double-click on the lock to see a
digital certificate of the website.
Make sure you are
entering correct URLs. Hackers will buy a domain for a similar named website
that is misspelled to trick people into entering personal information.
There is never a
reason to enter your Social Security number or passwords to e-mail and bank
accounts information during the buying process.
Use a different password
for each online retailer you have to create an account with.
Make sure you
understand the return and privacy policies before making purchases.
Don't click on advertisements
in a webpage.
Uncheck boxes
advertising "additional offers."
Make sure your antivirus
software is updates.
Be even more mindful
when shopping on your phone or tablet. According to Paypal, there was a 193%
increase in mobile shopping on Black Friday 2012 over last year. Experts say
those mobile shoppers need to be even more vigilant about security. Always make
purchases over a secure and password-protected wi-fi network.
And of course, if it
sounds too good to be true it probably is.
