Will Cyber Monday, the busiest online shopping day of the year, keep the momentum going?
"We expect this year that about 36 percent of consumers will be doing their holiday shopping online, that's up from 32.7 percent last year. So there is an increase, and definitely the merchants are catering to that," said Regina Novickis, a consumer savings expert with promotionalcodes.com.
"One of the things that you'll find on Cyber Monday that's different from Black Friday is sitewide offers," she said. "A lot of online merchants, heels.com for example, will be offering 30 percent off the entire site, anything that you go to, you're not limited to just those door buster items."
Social networking sites can help shoppers save big. Even when you're bombarded with emails from retailers announcing the "best" prices around, you can use www.pricegrabber.com or www.google.com/products to compare prices on what you're looking for.
Also, keep your eyes peeled for free shipping coupon codes, because even if a product appears cheaper on a certain website, the shipping costs can make the total price of the item more expensive.
Point-system websites such as www.Ebates.com or www.MyPoints.com can earn you gift cards or cash back.
One clothing retailer with deep discounts is Ann Taylor Loft, where they're offering 50 percent off on Cyber Monday with free shipping.
Other cyber buying tips include:
- Monitor Facebook and Twitter for favorite retailers
- Check and compare prices before purchasing
- Search for coupons for additional savings
"The three biggest kinds of crimes we're going to have is stolen credentials, sale of products that don't actually exist and leading you off to another retailer to make you pay more than you need to," Perry said.
"Any offer that you get unsolicited or that you see online that seems to be too good to be true, is too good to be true," he said. "Deal with known, trusted retailers, people that you've used before, the great big retailers online have a security staff and they're looking after their own security, which is a big help to you."
