San Francisco - The housing market may be in crisis, and a
credit crunch may be plunging the US economy toward recession.
But don't tell that to American shoppers. They are streaming to
shopping malls and internet stores in record numbers for another
season of splurge, with a smorgasbord of enticing high-tech gadgets.
The shopping season for the holidays officially kicked off last
week on the day after Thanksgiving, one of the only two days in the
year when most stores are closed in the United States.
After the 24-hour shopping break, hard-core shoppers wake up at 4
am to be first at the shop doors on so-called Black Friday, so named
because many retailers only become profitable for the year after that
day's revenue.
According to a survey by the National Retail Federation (NRF),
more than 147 million shoppers, or nearly half the population of the
United States, hit the stores during the three-day weekend, up 4.8
per cent from last year.
Shoppers also flocked to the internet in unprecedented numbers,
especially on what is known as Cyber Monday. This is when online
shopping usually spikes as workers return to their high-speed
internet connections in the office after the long Thanksgiving
weekend.
Traffic to the top 100 retail websites increased 26 per cent on
that day compared to 2006, according to web-tracking firm Hitwise -
the third straight year with an increase on the Monday following
Thanksgiving.
Research outfit comScore reported that online shoppers spent a
record 733 million dollars on Cyber Monday, a 21-per-cent increase
over last year and an 84-per-cent jump from the average daily online
spending in the preceding four weeks. Among the five retailers who
saw the most traffic to their sites, online giants like Amazon and
Dell were joined by brick-and-mortar stalwarts Wal-Mart, Target and
Best Buy.
'Following a strong holiday weekend, consumers continued to shop
online on Cyber Monday, increasing visits to retail sites from last
year,' said Heather Dougherty, director of research at Hitwise.
'Traffic to the electronics and video games categories experienced
the strongest growth, as shoppers searched for products such as GPS
navigation systems and Nintendo Wii consoles.'
The digital realm was also attractive in the real world, said NRF
chief executive Tracy Mullin.
'While last year showed a greater emphasis on high-definition
televisions, this year consumers were focused on lower-priced door-
busters like digital photo frames, laptops and cashmere sweaters,'
she said.
The NPD Research Group said that GPS navigation systems were among
the most popular tech gifts, while retailers said that digital
cameras, iPhones, MP3 players and video consoles were also in high
demand.
Meanwhile Sony's Playstation 3 has emerged from torpid sales to
attract thousands of buyers in recent days. Thanks to stark price
cuts, the number of buyers more than tripled in the week after
Thanksgiving.
But the hit of the video game world remains the innovative
Nintendo Wii. A year since its release, the motion-based game console
is still selling out as fast as stores can get them. Customers lucky
enough to get one through normal retail channels at the recommended
price of 249 dollars can immediately flip them for more than a 100-
dollar profit on auction site eBay.
'My wife and kids have been nagging me to get a Wii, but I can't
find one anywhere, except by paying extra on eBay,' said sales rep
Greg Willis. 'I heard that my local Toys R' Us store is getting some
on Sunday, so I will there at dawn to get in line.'
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
USA
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