cyber monday deals 2010
Online holiday sales growth seen up again: comScore
28 November 2010
A box from Amazon.com is pictured on the porch of a house in Golden, Colorado July 23, 2008. REUTERS/Rick Wilking
Credit: Reuters/Rick Wilking
By Alexandria Sage
SAN FRANCISCO | Nov 28, 2010 10:05am EST
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Online spending this holiday is now expected to rise by 11 percent over last year, comScore said on Tuesday, marking the second time the analytics firm has raised its closely watched view.
The increased bullishness over e-commerce sales comes as retailers both on and offline ready for the key Thanksgiving weekend when holiday shoppers head to stores or to their computers in search of deals.
The new spending outlook should bring total holiday e-commerce spending to $32.4 billion, comScore said.
Cyber Monday, the day when consumers head back to work after the Thanksgiving weekend, is considered the kick-off to the online shopping season. But brick-and-mortar retailers from Wal-Mart Stores Inc to Staples Inc are focused on early deals at their online units, while Internet giant Amazon.com has already gained market share this season, analysts say.
One week ago, comScore told Reuters in an exclusive interview that it was raising its forecast from an earlier projected gain of 7 percent to a new projection of 9 percent. It noted then that the outlook might be raised further.
The new outlook announced Tuesday is based on the first 21 days of the November and December season, in which $9.01 billion has already been spent, marking a 13 percent increase over the year-ago period, comScore said.
ComScore Chairman Gian Fulgoni said the holiday e-commerce season had "gotten off to an extremely positive start."
"Despite continued high unemployment rates and other economic concerns, consumers seem to be more willing to open up their wallets this holiday season than last," Fulgoni said in a statement.
He attributed the surge of purchases to deep discounts that started earlier than in 2009, when U.S. e-commerce sales rose 4 percent during the two-month holiday period.
Online sales make up approximately 7 percent of the overall retail pie, according to comScore, and brick-and-mortar retailers are expecting a far less rosy sales outlook this year.
The National Retail Federation expects 2010 holiday retail sales -- which exclude online as well as food, vehicle and gasoline sales -- to rise a mere 2.3 percent this year to $447.1 billion.
(Reporting by Alexandria Sage; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)
McAfee warns of Apple iPad scams this Christmas
28 November 2010 12:41
McAfee is urging computer users to be wary of offers that look too good to be true this Christmas, after noting that scammers are increasingly using the iPad as a lure to obtain credit card details.
In the spam version of the scam, victims are encouraged to first buy other products in order to get a free iPad, supplying their credit card details in the process.
"Victims never receive the iPad or the other items, just the headache of reporting a stolen credit card number," said Dave Marcus, director of security research at McAfee Labs.
A variation of this attack asks victims to supply their mobile phone number, which is then subscribed to a high-cost telecoms service.
McAfee also warned of a range of other scams likely to increase in frequency over the coming month. Business travelers, for example, could be at risk if they use unsecured mobile and wireless networks such as those found in hotels, said the vendor.
"Scams continue to be big business for cyber criminals who have their sights set on capitalising on open hearts and wallets this holiday season," said Marcus.
"As people jump online to look for deals on gifts and travel, it's important to recognise the common scams to safeguard against theft during the busy season ahead."
Another attack involves bogus distress messages from friends and family who might be travelling abroad asking for money to be wired in order to help them get home.
Cyber crooks may also turn to social media to promote fake gift cards, which are nothing more than a hook for consumer information which is often sold to marketers or used for identity theft.
Another personal data harvest could be perpetrated through SMS phishing attacks which purport to come from a bank or other trusted site, and ask users to input their password and log-in information.
"Cyber crooks know that people are more vulnerable to this scam during the holiday season when they are doing more online shopping and checking bank balances frequently," said McAfee.
Article Content:
http://uk.news.search.yahoo.com/rss?ei=UTF-8&p=cyber+monday+deals+2010
Technorati Tags: Apple iPad scams this Christmas, Amazon.com
Online holiday sales growth seen up again: comScore
28 November 2010
A box from Amazon.com is pictured on the porch of a house in Golden, Colorado July 23, 2008. REUTERS/Rick Wilking
Credit: Reuters/Rick Wilking
By Alexandria Sage
SAN FRANCISCO | Nov 28, 2010 10:05am EST
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Online spending this holiday is now expected to rise by 11 percent over last year, comScore said on Tuesday, marking the second time the analytics firm has raised its closely watched view.
The increased bullishness over e-commerce sales comes as retailers both on and offline ready for the key Thanksgiving weekend when holiday shoppers head to stores or to their computers in search of deals.
The new spending outlook should bring total holiday e-commerce spending to $32.4 billion, comScore said.
Cyber Monday, the day when consumers head back to work after the Thanksgiving weekend, is considered the kick-off to the online shopping season. But brick-and-mortar retailers from Wal-Mart Stores Inc to Staples Inc are focused on early deals at their online units, while Internet giant Amazon.com has already gained market share this season, analysts say.
One week ago, comScore told Reuters in an exclusive interview that it was raising its forecast from an earlier projected gain of 7 percent to a new projection of 9 percent. It noted then that the outlook might be raised further.
The new outlook announced Tuesday is based on the first 21 days of the November and December season, in which $9.01 billion has already been spent, marking a 13 percent increase over the year-ago period, comScore said.
ComScore Chairman Gian Fulgoni said the holiday e-commerce season had "gotten off to an extremely positive start."
"Despite continued high unemployment rates and other economic concerns, consumers seem to be more willing to open up their wallets this holiday season than last," Fulgoni said in a statement.
He attributed the surge of purchases to deep discounts that started earlier than in 2009, when U.S. e-commerce sales rose 4 percent during the two-month holiday period.
Online sales make up approximately 7 percent of the overall retail pie, according to comScore, and brick-and-mortar retailers are expecting a far less rosy sales outlook this year.
The National Retail Federation expects 2010 holiday retail sales -- which exclude online as well as food, vehicle and gasoline sales -- to rise a mere 2.3 percent this year to $447.1 billion.
(Reporting by Alexandria Sage; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)
McAfee warns of Apple iPad scams this Christmas
28 November 2010 12:41
McAfee is urging computer users to be wary of offers that look too good to be true this Christmas, after noting that scammers are increasingly using the iPad as a lure to obtain credit card details.
In the spam version of the scam, victims are encouraged to first buy other products in order to get a free iPad, supplying their credit card details in the process.
"Victims never receive the iPad or the other items, just the headache of reporting a stolen credit card number," said Dave Marcus, director of security research at McAfee Labs.
A variation of this attack asks victims to supply their mobile phone number, which is then subscribed to a high-cost telecoms service.
McAfee also warned of a range of other scams likely to increase in frequency over the coming month. Business travelers, for example, could be at risk if they use unsecured mobile and wireless networks such as those found in hotels, said the vendor.
"Scams continue to be big business for cyber criminals who have their sights set on capitalising on open hearts and wallets this holiday season," said Marcus.
"As people jump online to look for deals on gifts and travel, it's important to recognise the common scams to safeguard against theft during the busy season ahead."
Another attack involves bogus distress messages from friends and family who might be travelling abroad asking for money to be wired in order to help them get home.
Cyber crooks may also turn to social media to promote fake gift cards, which are nothing more than a hook for consumer information which is often sold to marketers or used for identity theft.
Another personal data harvest could be perpetrated through SMS phishing attacks which purport to come from a bank or other trusted site, and ask users to input their password and log-in information.
"Cyber crooks know that people are more vulnerable to this scam during the holiday season when they are doing more online shopping and checking bank balances frequently," said McAfee.
Article Content:
http://uk.news.search.yahoo.com/rss?ei=UTF-8&p=cyber+monday+deals+2010
Technorati Tags: Apple iPad scams this Christmas, Amazon.com
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