It is the Super Bowl for
online retailers -- always held on the Monday after Thanksgiving.
Millions flock to their
computers to save instead of storming the stores.
"Black Friday shopping
is really fun just because of the rush and the environment and the really good
sales," says Katie Watson of Bettendorf
The reasons people brave
the elements on black Friday greatly vary.
"It gives you a little
wider spectrum of what you're looking at, like what do they call it, window
shopping, where you get to kind of look over everything," said Ed Myers of Davenport.
"I love Cyber Monday. I
think it's a great thing for people like me who have full time jobs who can't
get out shopping once the holiday season starts.
This year, Cyber Monday
shoppers are expected to spend a record amount of $1.5 billion.
Much of that spending
will come from video games, computers, toys and even clothing.
But even with the ease
of the point and click, some still want to pound the pavement and find those
deals.
"It depends on what I'm
buying. Sometimes I like to see what I'm getting before, but sometimes I'm good,"
said Alex Tomesch, Bettendorf.
While shopping online
you really need to pay attention to your secure information - and if something
seems too good to be true it probably is.
There are things you can
do to make sure you stay safe this Cyber Monday.
- Always make sure to shop secure web sites.
These will have the letters HTTPS at the beginning.
- Never divulge your social security number
for any reason while shopping online.
- And, beware of using slightly misspelled
web sites. Scammers will buy up these URL's and use them as fronts for scams.
