Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Dec. 1 is "Cyber Monday", a massive day for online shoppers to take advantage of deals in wake of "Black Friday" and "Small Business Saturday".
Burt Flickinger from Strategic Resource Group feels Cyber Monday in 2025 is set to be a record-breaker not just for Western New York, but across the United States and Canada.
"The reason why you'll see a record-breaking Cyber Monday after a very strong Small Business Saturday is because of the depth and range of the inventories being deficient because of the tariff problems and all the other issues internationally, what's happened is the stores have the demand, but they don't have the products to fulfill the demand," explained Flickinger with WBEN.
Flickinger feels the only way to really get what someone needs - whether it's fashion, food, apparel, consumer electronics, toys, or anything else - is they will have to go online, and visit multiple sites to find their desired item.
"If you're buying men's or women's or children's clothes, you might get the right color, but you can't get the right size. So I found that in many cases, looking for gifts - our team across America has found the same thing - you have to go to 5-to-10 sites just to buy two-to-three items, because the in-stock position is poor in stores, and the in-stock position is almost equally as poor in the warehouses that serve the cyber or e-retail demand for consumers for this weekend, Cyber Monday, and going into the New Year's holidays," Flickinger noted.
When it comes to shopping on Cyber Monday versus Black Friday, Flickinger feels shoppers tend to find more bargains and better deals on Cyber Monday, because anyone can shop worldwide.
"With Amazon creating the old proverbial 'War of the Worlds' in retail - both online and on land - between Amazon and Walmart.com, the battle shifts from Gettysburg where the unions claim victory for blocking the Kroger, Albertsons and Fred Meyer department stores merger, but the unions are failing to support unionized employers, including with the State Attorney General in New York and the State AGs across America and the Federal Trade Commission. That's really the end of traditional bricks and mortar power malls," Flickinger noted. "With that, now you have the Battle of Midway, where Walmart and Amazon control land, air, and sea on a 360 degree basis, and the Federal Trade Commission set up a situation for Amazon and Walmart and a few other well capitalized retailers like Costco to strip mine America and strip mine the world, because the FTC has inadvertently eliminated competition worldwide. Especially in the United States, where 42 of the top-100 retailers have gone bankrupt or liquidated since the Federal Trade Commission, the State AGs - including New York State, including Andrew Cuomo - who failed to initiate any antitrust action against the mega retailers who have created oligopolies and monopolies across almost every major country in the world outside of Europe."
What, in particular, may be a hot commodity for online shoppers this Cyber Monday?
"Toys are going to be particularly hot. Legos, which are always hot, are going to be the hottest for Legos in history. So toys, consumer electronics, gaming is having a requiem. But also with AI, consumer electronics, laptops, devices, accessories, which had a modest year in 2024 and 2023, will have a record-breaking 2025," Flickinger said.
Flickinger also feels licensed sports and entertainment products will also be a big item of interest for online shoppers this year. It also helps that cotton prices for clothing are the lowest they've been in decades.
"With a relatively mild winter, cotton prices are the lowest they've been in over 160 crop years since the Civil War. So the prices on clothes are the lowest on Cyber Monday, clothes are a big item," Flickinger said. "Surprisingly, even gift cards are a big item. But every department's a winner in Cyber Monday, and there are no losers, which has not been the case for nearly a decade."
Flickinger does warn, though, of the biggest issue with Cyber Monday this year being the mega air freight carriers being grounded since the tragic UPS plane crash in Louisville nearly a month ago.
"The whole fleet across the U.S. and Canada is grounded. To have those mega carriers, there aren't enough trucks, there aren't enough drivers, there aren't enough tractor trailers to deliver all the merchandise," Flickinger said. "And all the shippers - from FedEx to Amazon to UPS to DHL - are working really hard, but without air freight and without enough maxi containers who can no longer go through the Panama Canal and circumnavigate the globe around Cape Horn, there'll be a real shortage of goods because this is the worst year for shipping goods for Cyber Monday, through air freight in the last half century."