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CNN Live At Daybreak

Online Sales: Retailers Using Web Sales to Reach Consumers

Aired November 28, 2003 - 06:45   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: Time now for a little 'Business Buzz.' Looking for some holiday sales, maybe you should log on to the Web.
Sasha Salama has the story from the Nasdaq market site in Times Square.

Hello -- Sasha.

SASHA SALAMA, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Catherine.

Yes, especially if you are looking to avoid the very crowded shopping malls and avoid all that traffic. In fact, it's expected that online holiday sales from now until Christmas will jump a whopping 42 percent to $12.2 billion. That's according to Forrester Research.

And retailers, some of them at least, are giving online consumers an early jump on savings. Sears Roebuck is one of them. It's offering its Internet shoppers after Thanksgiving sales prices on Thanksgiving Day. That happened for the first time yesterday. They are also giving special free shipping for purchases that come in under 70 pounds.

Sears and other retailers are really hoping that Internet sales will boost overall sales this holiday shopping season. And today is known as Black Friday. It's expected to be the biggest shopping day of the year. It's called Black Friday because merchants are hoping that their financial statements will move from being in the red to being in the black, thus, Black Friday. We will see what happens.

But there is some caution out there because of the still weak job market. The Conference Board is saying that on average American households will spend $455 on gifts this year. That would be down 5 percent from what they spent in 2002.

That said, the stock market is open today, though it's a shortened trading day for both the stock and the bond markets. But there's lots of hope out there that this will be the year, first year since 1999 that the stock market finishes up in the plus column. And it's certainly looking like that will happen. The Dow so far is up 17 percent. The Nasdaq is up 46 percent. So, Catherine, barring any major turnaround through the end of the year, it will be a welcome up year, the first since 1999 for the stock market.

CALLAWAY: Welcomed indeed. Thanks, Sasha. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com





Consumers>


Aired November 28, 2003 - 06:45   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: Time now for a little 'Business Buzz.' Looking for some holiday sales, maybe you should log on to the Web.
Sasha Salama has the story from the Nasdaq market site in Times Square.

Hello -- Sasha.

SASHA SALAMA, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Catherine.

Yes, especially if you are looking to avoid the very crowded shopping malls and avoid all that traffic. In fact, it's expected that online holiday sales from now until Christmas will jump a whopping 42 percent to $12.2 billion. That's according to Forrester Research.

And retailers, some of them at least, are giving online consumers an early jump on savings. Sears Roebuck is one of them. It's offering its Internet shoppers after Thanksgiving sales prices on Thanksgiving Day. That happened for the first time yesterday. They are also giving special free shipping for purchases that come in under 70 pounds.

Sears and other retailers are really hoping that Internet sales will boost overall sales this holiday shopping season. And today is known as Black Friday. It's expected to be the biggest shopping day of the year. It's called Black Friday because merchants are hoping that their financial statements will move from being in the red to being in the black, thus, Black Friday. We will see what happens.

But there is some caution out there because of the still weak job market. The Conference Board is saying that on average American households will spend $455 on gifts this year. That would be down 5 percent from what they spent in 2002.

That said, the stock market is open today, though it's a shortened trading day for both the stock and the bond markets. But there's lots of hope out there that this will be the year, first year since 1999 that the stock market finishes up in the plus column. And it's certainly looking like that will happen. The Dow so far is up 17 percent. The Nasdaq is up 46 percent. So, Catherine, barring any major turnaround through the end of the year, it will be a welcome up year, the first since 1999 for the stock market.

CALLAWAY: Welcomed indeed. Thanks, Sasha. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com





Consumers>