Cyber Monday – CNN Part Three

Binary days are over for 2011.  But there is one last nerdy holiday... and its today!  Yay! Cyber Monday.  Had a chance to chat with the amaze Brooke Baldwin on CNN today... here are the deets...



Last year Cyber Monday pulled in just over a billion in sales this year projected at 1.2 billion.

10 of the top 20 fastest-rising searches on Google right now are Cyber Monday related. These include: cyber monday deals 2011, best buy, walmart, target, cyber monday deals, macys, kohls coupons, sears, office max

Cyber Monday General Insights - Google
• Year over year
o Searches for ‘cyber monday’ are up by 125%, year over year
o Searches for ‘cyber monday coupons’ are up by 50%, year over year
o Searches for ‘cyber monday sales’ are up by more than 5,000% since November 1
o Searches for ‘cyber monday deals’ have grown by 600% since November 1

Best Deal Sites?
• CyberMonday.com
• RetailMeNot.com
• Savings.com
• Overstock.com
• Amazon (for lightning deals) - (Cyber Monday in 2010 was their peak day with more than 13.7 million items ordered worldwide across all product categories – that is a record-breaking 158 items per second. Interestingly Kindle Fire is best selling item across all of Amazon right now)
• Make sure to hit the ‘Like’ button on your favorite stores!

My personal fave deals today.
• 4GB Flip $44.99, PC Connection
• $1.99 albums, Google Music
• Shanalogic 15% off
• Jambox $150, Amazon.com
• Nook Simple Touch, $69, Overstock.com

Tips for protecting yourself.

Beware of Scams.
Your inbox will be full of promotions from your favorite stores. Read carefully. It still amazes me how smart phishing schemes are these days. Scammers will lure on hot ticket items….

Beware of phishing schemes.
I can create a fake photoshop ad trying to lure you to a malicious website in about ten minutes. Beware what mail you are opening and where it is coming from. No company, including your email or favorite store provider, needs your password or credit card information. Usually, if a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Use credit cards instead of debit cards.
You’ll be better protected from fraud and face less liability in the event of your card being stolen. Also, you have time to dispute credit card charges and stop payment to a creditor, whereas, debit charges are taken from your bank account immediately.

Shop only on certifiably secure websites: https.
Look for web addresses beginning with https:// before entering any credit card information and also the little padlock in the lower right of your browser. This signifies a secure connection.

Remember Restocking Fees!
I realize the sense of urgency on a one day deal, but be careful when it comes to purchasing big ticket items for gifts – often times opened laptops and big electronics can result in restocking fees up to 25%. If you’re not 100% sure it’s what they want, ask.

Don’t make purchases on public wi-fi.
Public wi-fi is easy to tap in to and hackers can easily steal your information --especially dangerous on days like Cyber Monday.

Protect your smartphone.
According to The National Retail Federation found that 53% of consumers are planning to shop on their smartphones this holiday season. And 34.8% of tablet owners will make a purchase on their device. For your smartphone download an app like Lookout for mobile security. This app will also allow you to wipe your data should it go missing. (I can’t tell you how many of my girlfriends set their phones down in stores when looking at something or trying something on)

Create a second email address.
Unless you want promotional emails for the next 10 years don’t give your go-to email address to retailers. If you haven’t already