Cyber Monday shoppers are online looking for deals but some are also still out in person
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The modern day shopper is online and in-person, sometimes at the same time, as we have seen on this Cyber Monday.
Online deals are flooding the retail sites coast to coast, and on the Central Coast some shoppers are watching the deals from their handheld electronics while buying in person if they get a price that is as good or better.
For some, online could be risky if the delivery date is too close to Christmas, or even has a delivery range that goes beyond Dec. 25.
The Cyber Monday trend began when online shopping grew rapidly as an option to in-person shopping. It also caught the attention of shoppers who had a faster connection from their work site than home, in the early days of the internet.
The deals posted already have been in the area of 30 to 50 percent off with some items as much as 80 percent off.
Some hot items include electric bikes, earbuds, large flat screen TVs and personal care products.
Shopper Dalia Kahn was in downtown Santa Barbara on a break and said, "a lot of the Black Friday deals carried over to Cyber Monday so I have been looking all weekend."
She was on line from early in the day to see what the deals could be.
"I've seen some web sites 70 percent off, 80 percent off, some good sales definitely. I already did some purchasing before work this morning."
Retailers were up front with their messages.
"Every screen yes" said Gladys Fox. She didn't find what she wanted but, "my nephew was buying X boxes and Play stations today."
The downtown foot traffic was slow in part because it was a Monday and also because of the online shopping that kept people at their computers and not in stores.
Shopper Pearl Henry said, "I usually shop on line but I like to buy clothes in person." When it comes to the in store or on line purchase, "I definitely check my phone before I buy it in person if there is a better deal on line."
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Also looming over this year's shopping season is the possible shortage of a gift item or a delay in delivery that may bring it to your door after Christmas.
Some sites were clear about that up front, others were not. Kahn said, "I did get a couple of emails after I purchased things letting me know that they probably wouldn't arrive until after January so that's kind of a bummer."
Expert shoppers say even with some special days now, there will be more discounts coming up in December and overall, the holiday buying season is expected to be strong this year, after the COVID slowdown.
