Buying holiday gifts online popular in US
[ 2006-12-27 09:08 ]
This
is the VOA Special English Economics Report.
The winter gift-giving season is responsible for 20 percent of all
retail spending at American businesses.
But how and when people buy holiday gifts is changing.
Record numbers of Americans are turning to the Internet. More than 100
million people are expected to buy something online this holiday season.
Traditionally, the biggest shopping day of the year was in late November on
the day after Thanksgiving. People still call it "Black Friday." The idea was
that it could push businesses "into the black" -- the traditional color for
recording profits. Red is for debts.
But now the busiest days are right before Christmas. Many people wait for
last-minute price reductions.
With the rise of the Internet, the National Retail Federation came up with a
new term. "Cyber Monday" is the Monday after Thanksgiving.
The idea is that many people look in stores over the weekend. Then, to save
time, they order online using the Internet at their jobs when they return to
work.
Cyber Monday is a big day online. But market researchers at comScore Networks
reported Wednesday that the biggest day of the holiday season so far was
December thirteenth. The company said people spent almost 670 million dollars at
American sites that day. That did not include travel sites.
Online spending during the holiday season was up a reported 25 percent
over last year. ComScore estimates that online holiday spending will reach
almost 25 billion dollars.
Online selling makes it easier for businesses to react to changing
conditions. It costs less to change the advertising on a Web site than in
stores.
Physical stores remain by far the most popular places to shop. But electronic
commerce continues to grow, and not just at Christmastime. In the three-month
period ending in September, it made up almost 3 percent of all retail sales
in the United States.
But wherever selling takes place, the holiday season means intense
competition. For example, demand for flat-panel
televisions has jumped recently. Competition has pushed down
prices for these popular thin TVs. The Best Buy Company reported selling some at
a loss to avoid losing market share to big competitors like Wal-Mart and Circuit
City.
And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter.
I'm
Bob Doughty.
price reduction : 降價
flat-panel television : 平面電視
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