Cyber Monday 2014 is expected to see far less shoppers compared to the previous year.
In a report by USA Today, stores saw fewer customers during the Black Friday festivities the past week, and the said trend is expected to spill over once Cyber Monday hits.
In another report by Yahoo! News, Walmart's price drops centered on high definition television sets, ranging from 40-inch screens to 65-inch 1080 LED televisions. The said television sets cost less than $1,000, with the biggest one dropping its price down to $898.
However, experts see the dramatic drop in numbers for this year. The National Retail Federation expects only 127 million people to make online purchases this year, a far cry from the 131 million people who made their online shopping plans beforehand in 2013.
Another reason that everyone is looking at is that 77% of consumers choose to shop online rather than drop by to the stores. Rightfully so, it helps them avoid getting caught within the frenzy of the other shoppers, and it also gives them better or at the very least comparable deals when purchases are done through the internet.
But according to NRF CEO Matthew Shay, many consumers are apparently feeling better about the United States' economic state, and are not that adamant anymore to chase after better deals on their preferred items.
Walmart, on the other hand, is optimistic that more shoppers will come in this year compared to the previous one. According to Walmart.com CEO Fernando Madeira, the deals they have offered for this year are better, and have added more stipulations such as same-day pickups, as a well as evening-only deals.
"We believe we're well positioned to capture the traffic," he said. "We expect more momentum."
Another report by the NRF showed the drop in numbers over the past weekend, with sales reaching only $50.9 billion, quite a far cry from last year's $57.4 billion.
