According to an article over on the WSJ, this years Black Friday may have brought shopping by mobile phone into its own as Black Friday resulted in a greater usage of mobile phone owners to seek out and purchase that Black Friday bargain.

The senior director of marketing at PayPal, Amanda Pries, has stated that from a very small base last year, mobile online payments via PayPal have surged to almost 650 percent. PayPal is used by roughly 50 percent of the top 100 online retailers including Best Buy, Sears Holdings and Wal-Mart.

Apparently searches via mobile phone where about 5000 last years Black Friday, but this year jumped to about 200,000 states the chief exec of product search engine TheFind.com, Siva Kumar, and went on to say that people took advantage of their mobile phones to compare prices whilst in store.

According to TheFind.com figures in terms of search hits from mobile phones, computers and other devices, Amazon got the most volume which was roughly six times that of Wal-Mart, and Kumar attributes the difference to Amazon’s lower prices and lack of sales tax.

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Sales on one of America’s busiest shopping days, Black Friday, were marginally ahead of 2008, but shoppers steered clear of higher priced items to hunt out bargains.

US shoppers moved away from full price merchandise and luxury items on Friday, which fell the day after the Thanksgiving and is the day consumers traditionally storm the shops. 195m shoppers visited stores and went online, up from 172m in 2008.

The average spend, at $343.31 per person for the Friday, Saturday and Sunday, was substantially down from last year’s $372.57, indicating a desire for discounted and cut-price stock, according to analysts.

Total spend over the weekend was 0.5% higher than last year, at $41.2bn.

Hardest hit by price-conscious shoppers were the luxury retailers, which failed to capitalise on the increased footfall, according to industry observers.

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the pajamas and sleepwear store, SleepyHeads.com (sleepyheads.com), has just announced a 40% discount on all SleepyHeads and Frankie and Johnny products on Black Friday. the Black Friday offer will be running only on November 27, 2009. Using the promo code, ‘FJ40 or SH40′. Sleepyheads.com is also offering a 30% store wide discount applicable only on Black Friday with the promotion code ‘BLACKFRIDAY’. only one coupon may be used per order.

Other Black Friday discounts offered by SleepyHeads.com include 40% off on Lug and Hello Kitty sleepwear line and Frankie & Johnny cosmetic bags at $5, ‘Free Robe’ offer with a purchase of $75 and above will run through November 30, 2009 and can be availed by using the promo code ‘FREEROBE’. only one coupon can be used per purchase. All other Black Friday deals can be viewed at: sleepyheads.com/blackfriday/.

SleepyHeads.com presents a wide range of sleepwear products, such as pajamas, dressing gowns and lingerie, all at competitive prices. Frankie & Johnny is an in-house brand that presents throwback designs to create nostalgic pajamas inspired by Nick & Nora pajamas. Frankie and Johnny Pajamas lines can be reached at: sleepyheads.com/Browse_by_Brand/Frankie_and_Johnny_Pajamas_and_Robes.

“We’re very excited to be able to offer 40% off on Frankie & Johnny pajamas and SleepyHeads sleepwear,” says Ms. Jennifer Briscoe, representative of SleepyHeads.com, “as not only are they great pajamas, but are perfect Christmas gifts! Frankie & Johnny pajamas come in flannel and cotton and in many styles and prints.”

Sleepyheads pajamas are a new brand exclusive to SleepyHeads.com, and are designed with family in mind. Sleepyheads have a line of matching family pajamas, holiday pjs, Christmas pajamas with seasonal holiday designs. Browse through the SleepyHeads loungewear collection at: sleepyheads.com/Browse_by_Brand/Sleepyheads_Pajamas_and_Loungewear.

“Sleepyheads pajamas is our own pajama line, devoted to making great family pajamas that are not too expensive in today’s economic climate. Sleepyheads pajamas make great Christmas gifts, and with the 40% discount on Black Friday, there’s never been a better time to get your hands on some great value pjs.” stated Ms. Briscoe, “and if your feeling extra Christmassy, then matching pajamas for the whole family might be right up your alley. with matching family pajamas, you can participate in the Family Matching Pajamas Photo Contest going on at SleepyHeads.com!”

More Christmas items are scheduled to be added to the gift lines at SleepyHeads.com in the run up to Christmas. To view current inventory of holiday and Christmas gifts and stocking stuffers, visit: sleepyheads.com/Holiday_Gifts.

“If you are searching for that perfect gift for a loved one, then search no more, as SleepyHeads has exactly what you are looking for! Frankie & Johnny and Sleepyheads pajamas make great Christmas gifts, and you can get something for everyone at the same time with a line of matching family pajamas.” said Ms. Briscoe, “Not only that, but we also have a store wide 30% discount on Black Friday! so, make it a very merry Christmas this year, with SleepyHeads!”

The special Black Friday 40% off discount on Frankie and Johnny and SleepyHeads pajamas can be availed only on Black Friday, November 27, 2009.

About SleepyHeads.com
SleepyHeads.com is a leading retailer of pajamas, sleepwear & lingerie featuring quality loungewear brands & designer labels. the SleepyHeads.com online store provides pajamas, lingerie, women’s pajamas, slippers, robes, men’s pajamas, matching family pajamas, etc.

SleepyHeads.com carried many popular brands that are often featured on TV: the Today Show, the Morning Show, & Extra. SleepyHeads.com products have also been featured in magazines such as Woman’s World & Oprah.

For Information, contact:
Jennifer Briscoe
1840 Airport Exchange Blvd. #130
Erlanger, KY
Phone: 1-866-638-2172
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Website: SleepyHeads.com/
Blog: blog.sleepyheads.com/
Twitter: twitter.com/sleepyheads01

although the recession may be over, Santa could still have a light load to carry this Christmas.

Black Friday has come and gone, and U.S. consumers spent significantly less per person this year.

According to the National Retail Federation, Black Friday weekend spending was down 8 percent per person.

While the NRF reports that spending for Black Friday weekend rose 0.5 percent to $41.2 billion, it estimates that the 2009 overall holiday sales will be down 1 percent this year, making an assumed $437.60 billion. last year’s amounted to $441.97 billion.

Local stores, like Family Video on Lincoln Avenue, did not see much of a difference in sales this weekend.

“We were really busy, but we didn’t notice any difference from last year,” said Brook Sloat, the assistant manager at Family Video.

Drawing the 195 million shoppers to stores and Web sites was the bargains.

Electronics and apparel would have the greatest bargains this year, according to CNNMoney.com.

Area retailers found this to be true in their most-sold items over the weekend.

A representative from the Wal-Mart on Lincoln Avenue said the most popular item on Friday was the 32-inch Emerson LCD HDTV.

An employee at the RadioShack in the Cross County Mall in Mattoon said its biggest sellers this weekend were GPS units and laptops.

Sarah Jean Bresnahan can be reached at 581-7942 or dencampusdesk@gmail.com.

the pajamas and sleepwear store, SleepyHeads.com (sleepyheads.com), has just announced a 40% discount on all SleepyHeads and Frankie and Johnny products on Black Friday. the Black Friday offer will be running only on November 27, 2009. using the promo code, ‘FJ40 or SH40′. Sleepyheads.com is also offering a 30% store wide discount applicable only on Black Friday with the promotion code ‘BLACKFRIDAY’. Only one coupon may be used per order.

Other Black Friday discounts offered by SleepyHeads.com include 40% off on Lug and hello Kitty sleepwear line and Frankie & Johnny cosmetic bags at $5, ‘Free Robe’ offer with a purchase of $75 and above will run through November 30, 2009 and can be availed by using the promo code ‘FREEROBE’. Only one coupon can be used per purchase. all other Black Friday deals can be viewed at: sleepyheads.com/blackfriday/.

SleepyHeads.com presents a wide range of sleepwear products, such as pajamas, dressing gowns and lingerie, all at competitive prices. Frankie & Johnny is an in-house brand that presents throwback designs to create nostalgic pajamas inspired by Nick & Nora pajamas. Frankie and Johnny Pajamas lines can be reached at: sleepyheads.com/Browse_by_Brand/Frankie_and_Johnny_Pajamas_and_Robes.

“We’re very excited to be able to offer 40% off on Frankie & Johnny pajamas and SleepyHeads sleepwear,” says Ms. Jennifer Briscoe, representative of SleepyHeads.com, “as not only are they great pajamas, but are perfect Christmas gifts! Frankie & Johnny pajamas come in flannel and cotton and in many styles and prints.”

Sleepyheads pajamas are a new brand exclusive to SleepyHeads.com, and are designed with family in mind. Sleepyheads have a line of matching family pajamas, holiday pjs, Christmas pajamas with seasonal holiday designs. Browse through the SleepyHeads loungewear collection at: sleepyheads.com/Browse_by_Brand/Sleepyheads_Pajamas_and_Loungewear.

“Sleepyheads pajamas is our own pajama line, devoted to making great family pajamas that are not too expensive in today’s economic climate. Sleepyheads pajamas make great Christmas gifts, and with the 40% discount on Black Friday, there’s never been a better time to get your hands on some great value pjs.” stated Ms. Briscoe, “and if your feeling extra Christmassy, then matching pajamas for the whole family might be right up your alley. With matching family pajamas, you can participate in the Family Matching Pajamas Photo Contest going on at SleepyHeads.com!”

More Christmas items are scheduled to be added to the gift lines at SleepyHeads.com in the run up to Christmas. to view current inventory of holiday and Christmas gifts and stocking stuffers, visit: sleepyheads.com/Holiday_Gifts.

“If you are searching for that perfect gift for a loved one, then search no more, as SleepyHeads has exactly what you are looking for! Frankie & Johnny and Sleepyheads pajamas make great Christmas gifts, and you can get something for everyone at the same time with a line of matching family pajamas.” said Ms. Briscoe, “Not only that, but we also have a store wide 30% discount on Black Friday! so, make it a very merry Christmas this year, with SleepyHeads!”

The special Black Friday 40% off discount on Frankie and Johnny and SleepyHeads pajamas can be availed only on Black Friday, November 27, 2009.

About SleepyHeads.com
SleepyHeads.com is a leading retailer of pajamas, sleepwear & lingerie featuring quality loungewear brands & designer labels. the SleepyHeads.com online store provides pajamas, lingerie, women’s pajamas, slippers, robes, men’s pajamas, matching family pajamas, etc.

SleepyHeads.com carried many popular brands that are often featured on TV: the Today show, the Morning show, & Extra. SleepyHeads.com products have also been featured in magazines such as Woman’s World & Oprah.

For Information, contact:
Jennifer Briscoe
1840 Airport Exchange Blvd. #130
Erlanger, KY
Phone: 1-866-638-2172
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Website: SleepyHeads.com/
Blog: blog.sleepyheads.com/
Twitter: twitter.com/sleepyheads01

Black Friday saw a frenzied crowd of deal hungry shoppers thronging the World’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) to get best deals.

In a marked departure from tradition, the Bentonville, Arkansas based retailer offered extended hours at most of its non-24 hour stores this year to cater to the heavy rush and especially house post-Thanksgiving shoppers.

Once bitten twice shy
On Black Friday last year, Wal-Mart had witnessed a tragedy when a worker was trampled by a couple of thousand strong shoppers rushed through the doors at opening time. the incident took place at one of the stores in Nassau district.

The company, in collaboration with the Nassau district attorney’s office, put up a safety plan for better crowd management this time around.

Nassau police, along with contracted security agents and seasonal store workers flocked the main doors of the Wal-Mart store and kept the shoppers informed about the availability of items that were most likely to be picked up.

The road outside the entry and exit points was barricaded. Shoppers waiting outside were let in only after people inside the store left.

“At this time we are not aware of any injuries or property damage related to Wal-Mart’s execution of its crowd management plan for Black Friday,” said Eric F. Phillips, the communications director for the district attorney of Nassau County, new York.

Complaints galore
At many of the Wal-Mart stores, shoppers struggled to find parking spots. not being able to find shopping carts was also a common complaint.

The biggest pain for shoppers was the huge serpentine lines at the checkout counters. Patience was the biggest virtue for these shoppers.

One of the stores in Upland, California had to down shutters as the irate customers got a bit too raucous. “We’ve heard of a few scuffles among customers, but overall it has been a very safe event,” claimed a Wal-Mart spokesman.

The biggest attraction at Wal-Mart was the $298 Hewlett-Packard laptop computers that went on sale as early as 5 a.m.

While the holiday season which kicks off with Black Friday may have a reason to cheer for the retailer, Wal-Mart, like most other players in the industry, has been reeling under a severe crisis in the wake of economic recession.

The company has, in the most recent quarter, reported a slump in sales at its stores open at least a year. the retailer had also warned of slower sales during the vitally significant holiday shopping season.

About 195 million shoppers visited stores and Web sites over Black Friday weekend, up from 172 million last year, but average spending dropped to $343.31 per person compared to $372.57, according to a National Retail Federation survey.

The survey, conducted by BIGresearch, estimates that spending for Black Friday through today will reach $41.2 billion nationwide.

The NRF survey comes on the heels on yesterday’s ShopperTrak report, which found that Black Friday spending was down nearly 5 percent in the Northeast, the weakest region in the country.

“Shoppers proved this weekend that they were willing to open their wallets for a bargain, heading out to take advantage of great deals on less expensive items like toys, small appliances and winter clothes,” said Tracy Mullin, NRF President and CEO. “While retailers are encouraged by the number of Americans who shopped over Black Friday weekend, they know they have their work cut out for them to keep people coming back through Christmas. Shoppers can continue to expect retailers to focus on low prices and bargains through the end of December.”

Shoppers’ destination of choice over the past weekend seemed to be department stores, with nearly half (49.4 percent) of holiday shoppers visiting at least one, a 12.9 percent increase from last year.

Discount retailers took an uncharacteristic back seat, with 43.2 percent of holiday shoppers heading to discount stores over the weekend and another 7.8 percent heading to outlet stores.

Shoppers also visited electronics stores (29 percent), clothing stores (22.9 percent), and grocery stores (19.6 percent).

As millions of shoppers gear up for Cyber Monday, one-fourth of Americans shopping over the weekend (28.5 percent) were shopping online.

“In an economy like this one, every retailer wants to be a discounter,” said Mullin. “Department stores have done an admirable job touting both low prices and good quality, which are important requirements for holiday shoppers on a budget.”

According to the survey, nearly one-third (32.2 percent) of shoppers purchased toys, an increase of 12.9 percent from last year. Additionally, more people purchased sporting goods (12.6 percent vs. 11.4 percent last year), personal care or beauty items (22.4 percent vs. 19.0 percent) and gift cards (21.2 percent vs. 18.7 percent).

The most popular purchases were of clothing (50.9 percent) and books (40.3 percent), which remained nearly unchanged over last year.

In order to nab the best holiday items, more shoppers headed out for bargains while it was still dark outside.

According to the survey, nearly one-third of shoppers (31.2 percent) were at the stores by 5 a.m., compared with 23.3 percent who were at stores by that time last year.

“During a more robust economy, people may be inclined to hit the “snooze” button on Black Friday, but high unemployment and a focus on price caused shoppers to visit stores early in anticipation of the best deals,” said Phil Rist, Executive Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, BIGresearch.

TRACY, CA — Black Friday customers who arrived at the Wal-Mart store here, expecting to purchase an e-Machines laptop for the $198 Black Friday price, were surprised to find the entire shipment of 37 units had been assigned to other customers the day before.

A store manager admitted that the only way for a customer to know that tickets allowing later purchase of the machines were being distributed early would have been to call the store and ask.

Such tickets are used by other stores–such as Best Buy–but were not mentioned in Wal-Mart’s Black Friday advertising, which only said the laptops would be on sale from 5 a.m. until 10 a.m.

“That really sucks,” said one unhappy customer when he learned he could not purchase a laptop, despite at the store at 5 a.m. when the sale was supposed to start “How was I supposed to know to call?”

The Wal-Mart manager, named mark, said other tech products had been presold in the same way as well, but did not elaborate.

Still other products, supposedly available for the entire day, did not go on sale until 5 a.m., despite the store having been open since midnight.

Mark, the store manager, said the company changed its Black Friday strategy this year, following the death of a security guard, crushed by customers when a Long Island opened on Black Friday 2008. this year, the Los Angeles Times reported two minor incidents on at Wal-Mart stores on Friday.

“There are some things we need to refine,” the Tracy manager said when asked why someone who arrived at the advertised time–5 a.m.–was unable to purchase the advertised laptop. it appeared that customers who lined up inside the store as early as 3 a.m. had not been told the item would be unavailable.

It is unclear whether the early ticket distribution was done at Wal-Mart stores nationwide or only in limited areas. it appeared other computers, including a $298 HP model, were also presold.

Stocks of a $589 HP All-in-One desktop, $78 1TB external drives, and other computer items were not presold and becamse available at 5 a.m., as promised in the store’s advertising.

Unlike past years, the Tracy, California store had been open 24 hours on Thanksgiving, and early-arriving customers were allowed inside the store, where they clustered around the items they wished to purchase.

Most of the sale items were stacked on pallets and shrink-wrapped, with signs warning that the merchandise was not to be sold before 5 a.m. on Black Friday, Nov. 27.

It is not clear how widespread the early ticket distribution was, or what penalties Wal-Mart might face as a result of the misleading advertising.

David Coursey tweets as @techinciter and may be contacted through his Web site.

Category: Technology Author : Kim LaCapria Posted: November 28, 2009
Tags : cyber monday, cyber monday 2009, cyber monday 2009 ads, cyber monday deals, cyber monday deals 2009, cyber monday specials

As much as I love shiny new gadgets at deep discounts, I didn’t go out on Black Friday.

For one thing, I hate people. as a former new York City resident now living on marginally less people-infested Long Island, anything involving crowds and people in close proximity, particularly competing for something, makes me go all stabby. (Plus, I almost got into a catfight in Wal-Mart a few weeks ago over the last case of Diet Cherry Pepsi. I was there first and that woman lost her damn mind.) Considering the large volume of crowds expected by stores and riot gear calmly stacked outside in the hours leading up to the sales, I reasoned that shopping on Black Friday was not worth the hassle, no matter how many accessories my iPhone needs to really work as it should.

As is generally always the case, I was so right. everyone I know who went out for the doorbusters came back worse than empty handed- they came back bogged down with shit they didn’t want or need, because no one wants to get up at 3am and buy nothing. the big “deals” we all salivated over for the past few weeks were like raffles, with few people scooping up a free Lego Rock Band at old Navy or a $200 laptop.

Enter Cyber Monday, the online version of Black Friday. While your boss will notice you absent the office for a few hours and the piles of stuff stacked in it after if you nip out to the shops, lots of workers can sneak in some e-tail therapy at their desks under the boss’ radar.

One massive advantage to Cyber Monday shopping is the reduced ability of retailers to jerk shoppers around. While many people lined up at best Buy for scarce, cheap netbooks and notebooks, your total investment of time for Cyber Monday shopping is a few clicks around a site to find where they’ve hidden the deals. if the quantities are super limited like in the stores, you’ll know without having to find a spot, push through crowds and knock down an old lady. Convenient!

While the big box stores warrant a post of their own, a great place to start your Cyber Monday strategizing is Retail Me not, a deal aggregator with codes and deals submitted by the internet at large.their list is exhaustive, but the site has quick, easy and intuitive search functions making the process pretty simple.

Gizmodo’s got a no-nonsense top ten list of Cyber Monday deals, cutting out the faff and detailing some good one-shot things. Included are an XBox 360 Premium Bundle at Wal-Mart for $399, a 20% PayPal cash-back incentive with some retailers, and a $25 Bluetooth headset.

As listings for genuine Cyber Monday sales and deals are scarce or ambiguous, it seems the best strategy for the day is to surf early and surf often. Sites begin sales days at different time based on location and policy, so some update as early as midnight. and bear in mind that stores are just as desperate as shoppers this year to stimulate their finances, so deals are likely to go hot and heavy for the entire Christmas season. do a quick Google shopping scan before searching to ensure the price you’re about to pay is indeed the lowest. and if you know of any fantastic deals we may be missing, ping me on Twitter at @klacapria and I’ll update with the good ones.

1. Stuck with relatives on Black Friday? Cyber Monday’s got deals, too
2. Walmart Cyber Monday Deals
3. Search Data Suggests Black Friday Hesitation
4. Black Friday Shopping Expected to Show Increase
5. Top 10 Tips For Black Friday Shopping In 2009

Shoppers aren’t the only ones cashing in on the bargains. Retailers are also hoping Friday puts them back in the black. While shoppers are busy flocking to stores to snatch up the best black Friday bargains, local retailers are counting every dollar, hoping to get the most bang for that buck. Retailers have been waiting with bated breath for this day ever since sales nose dived during last year’s holiday season.

Dr. Bonnie Knutson, MSU Professor: “Last year the retail industry, as was the consumer, were in shock, we had hit almost a tsunami if you want to think of it that way in terms of retail and job loss. this year we’ve gotten a little bit used to it and we’re figuring out how to adjust to it, and how to work around this new reality of limited resources.”

Bonnie Knutson is an expert on consumer trends. She says, what’s different about this year, is customers are shopping smarter and retailers are keeping up.

Dr. Bonnie Knutson: “They are watching their inventory stocks very carefully, even though they have to buy so far out in advance. they are extending the time people can get these good package deals, and these good value deals.”

Jessica Moliterno, Target Team Leader: “We’re definitely up to last year, which is encouraging with the economy and everything going on.”

And stores can only hope the trend will continue so they can ring in a merry Christmas and a happy new year.