PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Americans are expected to spend more than $11 billion online this Cyber Monday, up more than 5% from last year, according to Adobe Analytics data.
Retailers have been hosting sales earlier and earlier, which has taken some of the thunder away from Cyber Monday, but there are still some great deals to be had.
“Cyber Monday’s roots are in tech, so anything that is tech-related that you did not get on Black Friday that you want, Cyber Monday is the time to get it,” said RetailMeNot editor Kristen McGrath.
It’s a good time to buy laptops or tablets, many of which are hundreds of dollars off. Some deals are even better than the ones on Black Friday, like discounts on travel and clothing.
“A lot of retailers are really generous with those promo codes that can take an entire discount off your entire cart when you’re clothing shopping. So tech, clothing and travel are some of the biggest and smartest Cyber Monday buys,” McGrath said.
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It’s also a busy day for scammers, so shoppers should be extra vigilant to protect themselves online. Cybersecurity expert Tony Anscombe with ESET said it’s safer to buy directly from a retailer’s website or app. Our inboxes are bursting with promotional messages, but don’t open links in emails on the off chance they are actually scams.
“If it’s from an email, I wouldn’t click the link on the email,” he advised. “I’d actually go to the vendor’s website directly. Go to the browser, type in the URL, find the deal I’m looking for.”
Anscombe also recommends that consumers do not create an account with a retailer for a one-time purchase. Just about every store is bound to get hacked eventually, he said, and companies store data associated with each user account. Shoppers should try to avoid getting caught up in those potential messes, he said.
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