New To Cyber Monday Madness? Travel
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Today is one of the busiest shopping days of the season: Cyber Monday, a day when bargain hunters let their fingers do the walking.
Shayla Griggs is among the hundreds of consumers who helped make this Cyber Monday among the biggest shopping days in the U.S., with morning sales topping $840 million.
"I was up at 6 this morning. I felt in order to get the good deals you have to kind of get on it early," she said.
But that's not always the case. CBS 2's Dorothy Tucker says there is no need for shoppers to rush; all sales aren't ending at the stroke of midnight.
Jill Baker, manager at Raise, a gift card marketplace where users can sell or buy gift cards online at a discount, says the holiday has morphed into Cyber week for many retailers.
"If that inventory isn't moving, you might even find things more highly discounted the following week because they want to sell that inventory no matter what," Baker said.
New to the Cyber Monday marketing madness? Travel.
"Airlines like United, Alaska Airlines and Delta are offering discounted trips to hot destinations around the world and domestic," said Carson Yarbrough, who's with BlackFriday.com, the authority on Black Friday ads and deals.
Airline deals will end at midnight, but Yarbrough says some hotels will offer vacation deals all week.
"Hotels.com is offering 60 percent off site-wide for hotel stays and airfare trips to destinations like Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Cancun, London," she said.
What should you stay away from this Monday? Gift cards. Janice Lieberman of DealNews says the plastic money goes on sale closer to Christmas.
"That means restaurants and iTunes and GameStop will start offering discounts on their gift cards. They will go on sale closer to December."
According to experts, the biggest discounts will be clothing on sites such as Kohl's, Macy's, Nordstrom, and Old Navy. Furthermore, Best Buy and Walmart are the best online stores for hot new tech toys like the Amazon Echo or Google Home.
Happy shopping!
