Business & Tech

POLL Cyber Monday Bookends Holiday Buying Season, Are You In?

It may have started as a marketing ploy to convince consumers to try e-commerce, but Cyber Monday has become big business.

According to Bloomberg news services, Cyber Monday started in 2005 as a marketing ploy cooked up by online retailers.

It may even be more hype than anything else. Online shopping actually increases between December 5 and 15. And over 2,000 e-retailers have agreed to offer free shipping for purchases made on December 16. Last-minute shoppers with long-distance gift recipients rejoice.

But Cyber Monday has successfully become part of the great marketing triumvirate: Black Friday, newcomer Small Business Saturday and for digital do-gooders Cyber Monday.

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Traffic to e-commerce retailers will steadily rise as people steal a moment at their personal computers, laptops and even work to dash off a few purchases.

Here are some tips for safe online shopping:

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  • If you do plan to buy online, make sure you only use secure sites. Check that the URL begins with "https" instead of "http."
  • Consider paying with buffer services like Paypal or Google Wallet which allow you to pay without giving your credit card information directly to vendors.

Will you shop online today?


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