Cyber Monday Deals may hit record

In what began as an afterthought to Black Friday, Cyber Monday has become the No. 1 online shopping day of the year. There are signs that consumers plan to spend heavily online this holiday season.

The first Monday after Thanksgiving, Cyber Monday traditionally marks the first big jump in online spending for the holidays. Millions of consumers are expected to storm retail websites for Web-only deep discounts, special promotions and free shipping.

No longer just an afterthought to Black Friday, Cyber Monday has grown in importance in recent years.

In 2006 it was only the 12th-biggest online spending day of the year. It's jumped in the rankings every year since, landing in the No. 1 spot last year for the first time, said Andrew Lipsman, vice president of industry analysis at market research firm ComScore Inc., which tracks online spending.

Cyber Monday sales topped $1 billion in 2010, and Lipsman estimated that sales this year could reach a record $1.2 billion.

Already there are signs that consumers plan to spend heavily online this Christmas season. Read more...

What is Recession?

This story is about a man who once upon a time was selling Hotdogs by the roadside. He was illiterate, so he never read newspapers. He was hard of hearing, so he never listened to the radio. His eyes were weak, so he never watched television. But enthusiastically, he sold lots of hotdogs.
He was smart enough to offer some attractive schemes to increase his sales. His sales and profit went up. He ordered more a more raw material and buns and sold more. He recruited more supporting staff to serve more customers. He started offering home deliveries. Eventually he got himself a bigger and better stove. As his business was growing, the son, who had recently graduated from college, joined his father.

Then something strange happened.

The son asked, "Dad, aren't you aware of the great recession that is coming our way?" The father replied, "No, but tell me about it." The son said, "The international situation is terrible. The domestic situation is even worse. We should be prepared for the coming bad times."
The man thought that since his son had been to college, read the papers, listened to the radio and watched TV. He ought to know and his advice should not be taken lightly. So the next day onwards, the father cut down the his raw material order and buns, took down the colorful signboard, removed all the special schemes he was offering to the customers and was no longer as enthusiastic. He reduced his staff strength by giving layoffs. Very soon, fewer and fewer people bothered to stop at his Hotdog stand. And his sales started coming down rapidly and so did the profit. The father said to his son, "Son, you were right". "We are in the middle of a recession and crisis. I am glad you warned me ahead of time."

Moral of the Story: It's all in your MIND! And we actually FUEL this recession much more than we think.