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It's Cyber Monday and more locals than ever are joining in, with 71% of Americans believing that the best deals are on-line, more Louisiana residents than ever are expected to do their holiday shopping in the calm of their homes, sitting comfortably in front of their computer screens or while they're at work today.
According to Shop.org's eHoliday survey (conducted by BIGinsight), a record 85 percent of on-line retailers are offering special promotions on Cyber Monday today, up from 78.4 percent last year.
And more people than ever are projected to be taking part this year.
Natasha-Rachel Smith, Head of Communications for TopCashback.com says one of the biggest trends in on-line shopping now is shopping portals, sites that offer coupons or rebates on top of traditional sales and promotions. And with nearly all on-line retailers offering deals on merchandise and shipping, this a great time to save money she says, "If you can be organized, disciplined and patience, so that you can wait for the item you're ordering to be delivered to you, you can have killer savings."
While credit card companies offer portals and cash back to their customers, there are now more sites that are available to everyone, free of charge Smith says.
It's a day a lot of employers turn a blind eye to the 72 million people estimated by the National Retail Federation to be shopping from the workplace today.
The Better Business Bureau recommends the follow "Do's and Dont's" for shopping on-line this holiday season to help fight unscrupulous on-line retailers, scammers and hackers:
Do:
-Protect your computer. A computer should always have the most recent updates installed for spam filters, antivirus and anti-spyware software and a secure firewall.
-Shop with X-Ray Vision. This may be a superpower but any consumer can see through a spoof if they know what to look for. Shoppers need to keep in mind web sites can go up today and be gone tomorrow! Consumers can see through these ploys when they keep two windows open at all times - one to hunt for deals and the other to shop for trust. Check bbb.org to check out the seller's BBB rating, on-line reputation and record for customer satisfaction and if you can't find trustworthy information - move on.
-Protect your personal information. Scammers are waiting for consumers to enter personal information into their phony sites and run off with it. Shopping for trust is paramount and BBB also recommends taking the time to read the site's privacy policy and understand what personal information is being requested and how it will be used. If there isn't one posted, take that as a red flag that personal information may be sold to others without permission.
-Confirm your on-line purchase is secure. Shoppers should always look in the address box for the "s" in https:// and in the lower-right corner for the "lock" symbol before paying. If there are any doubts about a site, BBB recommends right-clicking anywhere on the page and select "Properties." This will let you see the real URL (web site address) and the dialog box will reveal if the site is not encrypted.
-Pay with a credit card. It's best to use a credit card, because under federal law, you can dispute the charges if you don't receive the item. Your also have dispute rights if there are unauthorized charges on your credit card, and many card issuers have "zero liability" policies under which the card holder pays nothing if someone steals the credit card number and uses it. If you are going to shop on classifieds web sites like Craigslist, never wire money and only buy locally where you can see the item before you hand over your money.
-Know your rights. Federal law requires that orders made by mail, phone or on-line be shipped by the date promised or, if no delivery time was stated, within 30 days. If the goods aren't shipped on time, the shopper can cancel and demand a refund.
There is no general three-day cancellation right, but consumers do have the right to reject merchandise if it's defective or was misrepresented. Otherwise, it's the company's policies that determine if the shopper can cancel the purchase and receive a refund or credit.
Don't:
-Fall for deals that sound too good to be true. Offers on web sites and in unsolicited e-mails can often sound too good to be true, especially extremely low prices on hard-to-get items. Consumers should always go with their instincts and not be afraid to pass up a "deal" that might cost them in the end.
-Give into phishing scams. Legitimate businesses do not send e-mails claiming problems with an order or an account to lure the "buyer" into revealing financial information. If a consumer receives such an e-mail, BBB recommends picking up the phone and calling the contact number on the web site where the purchase was made to confirm that there really is a problem with the transaction.
-Lose track of your documents. After completing the on-line order process, there may be a final confirmation page or the shopper might receive confirmation by e-mail. BBB recommends saving a copy of the web page and any e-mails for future reference and as a record of the purchase.
-Wait for paper statements. Check your credit card statements often; BBB recommends consumers check their credit card statements for suspicious activity by either calling credit card companies or by looking at statements on-line each week or even more during this busing shopping season.
According to Shop.org's eHoliday survey (conducted by BIGinsight), a record 85 percent of on-line retailers are offering special promotions on Cyber Monday today, up from 78.4 percent last year.
And more people than ever are projected to be taking part this year.
Natasha-Rachel Smith, Head of Communications for TopCashback.com says one of the biggest trends in on-line shopping now is shopping portals, sites that offer coupons or rebates on top of traditional sales and promotions. And with nearly all on-line retailers offering deals on merchandise and shipping, this a great time to save money she says, "If you can be organized, disciplined and patience, so that you can wait for the item you're ordering to be delivered to you, you can have killer savings."
While credit card companies offer portals and cash back to their customers, there are now more sites that are available to everyone, free of charge Smith says.
It's a day a lot of employers turn a blind eye to the 72 million people estimated by the National Retail Federation to be shopping from the workplace today.
The Better Business Bureau recommends the follow "Do's and Dont's" for shopping on-line this holiday season to help fight unscrupulous on-line retailers, scammers and hackers:
Do:
-Protect your computer. A computer should always have the most recent updates installed for spam filters, antivirus and anti-spyware software and a secure firewall.
-Shop with X-Ray Vision. This may be a superpower but any consumer can see through a spoof if they know what to look for. Shoppers need to keep in mind web sites can go up today and be gone tomorrow! Consumers can see through these ploys when they keep two windows open at all times - one to hunt for deals and the other to shop for trust. Check bbb.org to check out the seller's BBB rating, on-line reputation and record for customer satisfaction and if you can't find trustworthy information - move on.
-Protect your personal information. Scammers are waiting for consumers to enter personal information into their phony sites and run off with it. Shopping for trust is paramount and BBB also recommends taking the time to read the site's privacy policy and understand what personal information is being requested and how it will be used. If there isn't one posted, take that as a red flag that personal information may be sold to others without permission.
-Confirm your on-line purchase is secure. Shoppers should always look in the address box for the "s" in https:// and in the lower-right corner for the "lock" symbol before paying. If there are any doubts about a site, BBB recommends right-clicking anywhere on the page and select "Properties." This will let you see the real URL (web site address) and the dialog box will reveal if the site is not encrypted.
-Pay with a credit card. It's best to use a credit card, because under federal law, you can dispute the charges if you don't receive the item. Your also have dispute rights if there are unauthorized charges on your credit card, and many card issuers have "zero liability" policies under which the card holder pays nothing if someone steals the credit card number and uses it. If you are going to shop on classifieds web sites like Craigslist, never wire money and only buy locally where you can see the item before you hand over your money.
-Know your rights. Federal law requires that orders made by mail, phone or on-line be shipped by the date promised or, if no delivery time was stated, within 30 days. If the goods aren't shipped on time, the shopper can cancel and demand a refund.
There is no general three-day cancellation right, but consumers do have the right to reject merchandise if it's defective or was misrepresented. Otherwise, it's the company's policies that determine if the shopper can cancel the purchase and receive a refund or credit.
Don't:
-Fall for deals that sound too good to be true. Offers on web sites and in unsolicited e-mails can often sound too good to be true, especially extremely low prices on hard-to-get items. Consumers should always go with their instincts and not be afraid to pass up a "deal" that might cost them in the end.
-Give into phishing scams. Legitimate businesses do not send e-mails claiming problems with an order or an account to lure the "buyer" into revealing financial information. If a consumer receives such an e-mail, BBB recommends picking up the phone and calling the contact number on the web site where the purchase was made to confirm that there really is a problem with the transaction.
-Lose track of your documents. After completing the on-line order process, there may be a final confirmation page or the shopper might receive confirmation by e-mail. BBB recommends saving a copy of the web page and any e-mails for future reference and as a record of the purchase.
-Wait for paper statements. Check your credit card statements often; BBB recommends consumers check their credit card statements for suspicious activity by either calling credit card companies or by looking at statements on-line each week or even more during this busing shopping season.
