Generous incentives woo online shoppers

NEW YORK — After jamming malls on Friday for discounted flat-screen TVs and toys, shoppers clicked onto their computers at work Monday as retailers ushered in the start of the online shopping season with bargains and marketing hype.

With an increasing number of online players trying to outdo each other, shoppers are being bombarded with even more generous discounts, free shipping offers and other enticements this holiday season.

For the Monday after Thanksgiving, coined Cyber Monday by the National Retail Federation, plenty of retailers like Circuit City Stores Inc. offered special one-day coupons.

Meanwhile, Walmart.com began on Monday a five-day special on such online-only items as certain flat-screen TVs and cashmere scarves. And Barnesandnoble.com is wooing shoppers with a free tote bag if they spend $75 or more.

"It is a very promotional holiday shopping season," said Scott Silverman, executive director of Shop.org, the online arm of the National Retail Federation. "Many are using today as the platform to launch promotions." He noted that more retailers offered incentives starting as early as last week.

To fuel the hype surrounding Cyber Monday, NRF launched a new site last week called CyberMonday.com, which pulls together online discounts for both Cyber Monday and through the holiday season from nearly 400 retailers.

So far, the incentives seemed to be working, according to early reports.

Jewelry retailer ice.com reported a 60 percent increase in traffic and an 80 percent increase in sales through noon Monday, compared to the same period a year ago, according to Pinny Gniwisch, founder of ice.com. Walmart.com reported a 60 percent increase in traffic through noon Monday compared to a year ago.

While the first Monday after Thanksgiving kicks off the online holiday shopping season, it's not the busiest day for retailers. Internet research firm comScore Networks Inc. expects that honor to fall to either Dec. 11 or Dec. 12, making Cyber Monday either the ninth or tenth busiest online shopping day. Last year, the first Monday after Thanksgiving was the ninth busiest day.

Still, Cyber Monday marks the first big online shopping surge for many merchants for the season.