Online retailers ramp up deals to capture dollars

NEW YORK (AP) - Online retailers are ramping up heavy-duty deals to turn skittish shoppers into buyers during the crucial Thanksgiving weekend and "Cyber Monday" - but even so, online sales are expected to be fairly flat after years of strong growth.

Free shipping is virtually a given, and many are offering financing options such as no payments for 90 days and deals like $10 off purchases of $50 or more, along with traditional discounts on products.

"Last year, people were spending a lot more money on gifts and products," says Jeff Wisot, vice president of marketing for online retailer Buy.com. "With the economic challenges arising this year, people are definitely spending less."

"Cyber Monday," a term coined by the trade group National Retail Federation in 2005 to describe the Monday after the Thanksgiving holiday, is the unofficial kickoff for the busy online retail season.

However, this year, consumer spending has dropped dramatically - down 1 percent in October, the largest amount since the 2001 terrorist attacks - as consumers grapple with a shaky economy, mounting job losses and a prolonged housing slump.

During the holidays, the trade group expects overall holiday spending will total about $470.4 billion, a 2.2 percent rise from a year ago and the slowest growth since 2002, and online retail is being hit along with brick-and-mortar stores. ComScore, a digital technology monitoring company, said Tuesday it expects online retail spending for November and December to be flat compared with the same two months in 2007. Last year's growth rate was 19 percent.

The expected slowdown in online growth is "dramatically different than what we've seen," says Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at NPD Group. "Consumers are not in a rush to shop."

In an effort to entice them, online retailers are offering a bounty of deals.

Wisot of Buy.com says his site is offering free shipping on most items, instant rebates and deals on TVs, GPS devices and other items.

Online jeweler BlueNile.com sent out a targeted e-mail promotion offering $100 off a $500 engagement ring, valid until Tuesday. And through Bill Me Later, an online payment site eBay.com is acquiring, BlueNile.com is offering 0 percent financing on purchases of $500 or more for six months. Bill Me Later has similar promotions for other online retailers.

Meanwhile, Amazon.com will take up to 65 percent off watches and offer one-day deals such as knife set that is usually $157 on sale for $49.99.

"We're bringing prices down as low as we can get them," Berman says. "These are great deals."

Online auction site eBay.com is holding what it calls the largest sale in its history, with $1 holiday doorbuster items hidden on the site that consumers hunt for, including a 65-inch Panasonic plasma HDTV and a 2009 Chevy Corvette. EBay also will offer items typically in demand for the holidays for bids starting at $1.

Toys "R" Us is offering more online promotions on Cyber Monday than last year, including 70 percent off Star Wars figures, $50 off the normally $59.99 Guitar Hero wired guitar controller from Activision and other deals.

And PayPal, another online payment site that eBay owns, is partnering with several retailers on deals. At Toys "R" Us, customers get $10 off purchases of $50 or more. Elsewhere, customers using PayPal can receive cash-back incentives ranging from 5 percent to 30 percent off at retailers including American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (AEO) (AEO), Overstock.com and Blockbuster.

Whether all the deals, rebates and discounting offers will help remains to be seen, says Dr. Michael Belch, a professor of marketing at San Diego State University.

"There's little doubt the consumer is still going to be very price sensitive," he says. "They're going to be looking for values."

IMF Wants A Financial Hand

The fund desires an additional $100B to help countries impacted by the global credit crisis.

The International Monetary Fund has roughly $200.0 billion in its treasury for struggling economies, but with the global financial crisis spreading deeper into emerging markets, the IMF is going to need more funding, according to its managing directors.

"It is true to say that because of globalization, the amount which the IMF is asking for is increasing rapidly, and the list of countries asking for some support is increasing every day," said IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

Developing countries are being hit by the financial slowdown despite hopes that their limited exposure to the soured structured investment vehicles that tightened global credit markets would keep them largely insulated from economic weakness. Foreign investors, however, began pulling much-needed funding from the countries, pressuring their currencies and banks. (See "The Global Financial Crisis.")

"A lot of capital has left emerging market countries where stock markets are down 30.0% to 50.0% and currencies have come down," said Arvind Subramanian, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development. He said the Fund seems to be preparing for a protracted global slowdown since it has enough money to cover countries' needs in the short term.

"It would seem prudent to aim for a doubling of the resources available for Fund lending, even if the resources appear adequate in the current situation," said IMF First Deputy Managing Director John Lipsky, emphasizing that resources may not be enough if financial weakness isn't corrected before it spreads further. (See "The IMF Only Has So Much Oomf.")

The Ukraine, Iceland, Hungary, Serbia, Belarus and Turkey have already been talking to the IMF, which has 185 member countries.

So far, only Japan has offered additional funding with a $100.0 billion unilateral loan although Strauss-Kahn seems to be expecting more countries to come forward. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been lobbying Saudi Arabia and China for more money, and Subramanian said China is certainly in the position to offer financial support--though neither country is likely to give money without also asking for a more active role in managing the Fund, he added.

Gadget Teknologi Tinggi Susah Diperbaiki

Kapanlagi.com - Belakangan hampir semua produsen peranti elektronik menawarkan produk dengan teknologi tinggi. Tuntutan untuk membuat gadget yang mampu mengerjakan banyak tugas dan mampu terkoneksi dengan peranti lain membuat gadget-gadget yang dijejali banyak fitur itu jadi tak mudah diperbaiki saat mengalami kerusakan. Setidaknya itulah hasil riset yang dilakukan baru-baru ini.

Pew Internet & American Life Project yang melakukan survei terhadap pengguna komputer, portable music player, ponsel, dan smartphone. Dan hasil dari survei ini menunjukkan bahwa sekitar 15% dari pengguna peranti ini yang mengalami kerusakan akhirnya menyerah karena tak bisa mencari teknisi untuk memperbaiki gadget mereka.

Hasil survei tersebut juga menunjukkan bahwa sekitar 38% dari pengguna menghubungi customer service sedangkan 28% mengaku berhasil memperbaikinya sendiri. 15% dari pengguna ini berhasil mencari 'pertolongan' lewat internet sementara 15% sisanya mengaku putus asa dan memutuskan untuk membeli gadget baru.

Seperti diberitakan oleh Associated Press hari Senin (17/11/08), tingginya tingkat kompleksitas dari produk gadget akhirnya membuat para produsen mulai 'merangkul' komunitas online untuk membantu mereka memberikan solusi bagi pelanggan yang mengalami kesulitan. Banyak produsen mulai menganggap bahwa fitur dan teknologi yang mereka cangkokkan pada produk mereka tak lagi dapat diatasi dengan layanan customer service.

Sementara dari sisi konsumen sendiri kadang juga mengalami masalah saat harus menghubungi costumer service karena mereka menggunakan dua produk dari produsen berbeda. Misalnya saja Anda menggunakan produk komputer dari satu produsen sementara printer yang Anda gunakan dibuat oleh produsen lain. Ini membuat konsumen kesulitan karena tak tahu harus menghubungi customer service yang mana. (ap/roc)

Spesifikasi USB 3.0 Sudah Beredar Resmi

Kapanlagi.com - Setelah cukup lama jadi pembicaraan di internet, akhirnya USB Implementers Forum melepas juga spesifikasi resmi dari USB 3.0 yang konon akan mampu memberikan kecepatan transfer data hingga 10 kali lebih cepat dari yang ditawarkan USB 2.0 saat ini. Selain lebih cepat, SuperSpeed USB ini akan lebih hemat daya dibanding pendahulunya.

Dalam sebuah pernyataan resmi di hari Senin kemarin, Jeff Ravencraft, presiden USB Implementers Forum menyampaikan bahwa ukuran file yang digunakan kebanyakan pengguna komputer saat ini sudah sangat besar sehingga dibutuhkan kecepatan transfer lebih tinggi untuk tetap dapat memindahkan file ini antar komputer dan gadget dengan mudah.

Jeff Ravencraft berharap di akhir tahun 2009, produk komputer yang beredar sudah menggunakan USB 3.0 sementara gadget yang menggunakan teknologi ini diharap sudah beredar di tahun berikutnya. Spesifikasi USB 3.0 ini dirancang untuk dapat tetap kompatibel dengan versi sebelumnya.

Menurut sebuah berita yang dilansir ZDNet hari Senin (17/11/08) disebutkan bahwa Intel, HP, Microsoft, ST-NXP Wireless, NEC dan Texas Instruments juga terlibat dalam pembuatan spesifikasi USB 3.0 ini (kpl/roc)