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CNN Live Sunday

Interview With Lauren Young

Aired November 24, 2002 - 18:09   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.


ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Consumers are expected to spend an estimated $20 billion online this year. That's more than 30 percent -- that's a rise of more than 30 percent from last year. "Smart Money" magazine has some tips for getting the most for your money during the holiday seasons. Lauren Young is a senior writer for "Smart Money" and she joins us from New York. Lauren, thanks for being with us. How is the season looking in terms of buying stuff online?
LAUREN YOUNG, SMART MONEY MAGAZINE: Well, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Online sales really have been fantastic so far. The most weekly -- recent weekly data, Amazon.com, basically through the roof in terms of the number of people who are going on and buying stuff.

COOPER: And this above last year, which was pretty good even for last year?

YOUNG: That's right. And as you said, we're going to see sales rise a lot more in the online area than we are at the bricks-and- mortar stores. They're only supposed to see sales rise about 4 percent this year. So a huge amount of people are going online.

COOPER: And this is happening why? Because people, their Internet hookups are getting faster? It's getting more convenient?

YOUNG: Faster, hookups definitely more convenient. But I think people are also trusting their ability to go shopping online. You know, security was such a big concern a few years ago, but I think as people get more comfortable with going online, they have no problems shelling out on average $649 per person this year for holiday shopping.

COOPER: There have been problems, though, with some of the delivery services and some of the capabilities of these online retailers. Are those problems going to surface again this year, do we know?

YOUNG: Well, I hope they won't. So far we've really had no indication that there's going to be problems. But as we get closer and closer to the crucial December 25 deadline, we'll see. Last year, as you mentioned, there were some problems. Toys "R" Us didn't get stuffed toys underneath the tree in time, so that was a big problem, so they offered lots of vouchers. This year they've paired with Amazon.com. And as a matter of fact, lots of people have paired up with Amazon.com, because they figured out that Amazon really knows how to do this business. So hopefully we will not see the glitches that we did last year.

COOPER: And what are some of the best sites out there for shopping online this year?

YOUNG: Well, Amazon would definitely be the first. They've hooked up actually with 400 apparel makers, they've got free shipping. Free shipping by far is the overall theme that you're going to this year. Bestbuy.com, barnesandnoble.com, pretty much everybody is offering free shipping. And don't forget about the free tax, no taxes. So definitely an incentive to go online.

COOPER: And if we're looking for deals, what's the best place for deals?

YOUNG: Well, in our new issue of "Smart Money," the December issue, we really like two sites. One is Edealcatcher.com, the other one is dealfinder.com. These sites go out and they survey like the 300 biggest sites, and they give you the coupon codes and some discounts. I found some discounts, for example, 15 percent off Ann Taylor today. And you can also find some good discounts at Barnes & Noble and lots and lots of electronics companies right now. Big discounts.

COOPER: Fifteen percent at Ann Taylor, that can add up.

YOUNG: Yeah.

COOPER: How do you protect yourself, though, from being scammed? How do you know the site you're dealing with is a legitimate one?

YOUNG: That's a really good question, Anderson. I think the best place to go is something called bizrate.com. Really popular site. What they do is they basically rank customer service, on-time delivery of 2,000 of the largest sites. And it's customers writing in like you and basically saying how they rate the site. So I find that that's a really instructive way to go to learn from other people, from their mistakes, and hopefully from their successes.

COOPER: All right, Lauren Young, "Smart Money" magazine, smart advice, thanks very much.

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






Aired November 24, 2002 - 18:09   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Consumers are expected to spend an estimated $20 billion online this year. That's more than 30 percent -- that's a rise of more than 30 percent from last year. "Smart Money" magazine has some tips for getting the most for your money during the holiday seasons. Lauren Young is a senior writer for "Smart Money" and she joins us from New York. Lauren, thanks for being with us. How is the season looking in terms of buying stuff online?
LAUREN YOUNG, SMART MONEY MAGAZINE: Well, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Online sales really have been fantastic so far. The most weekly -- recent weekly data, Amazon.com, basically through the roof in terms of the number of people who are going on and buying stuff.

COOPER: And this above last year, which was pretty good even for last year?

YOUNG: That's right. And as you said, we're going to see sales rise a lot more in the online area than we are at the bricks-and- mortar stores. They're only supposed to see sales rise about 4 percent this year. So a huge amount of people are going online.

COOPER: And this is happening why? Because people, their Internet hookups are getting faster? It's getting more convenient?

YOUNG: Faster, hookups definitely more convenient. But I think people are also trusting their ability to go shopping online. You know, security was such a big concern a few years ago, but I think as people get more comfortable with going online, they have no problems shelling out on average $649 per person this year for holiday shopping.

COOPER: There have been problems, though, with some of the delivery services and some of the capabilities of these online retailers. Are those problems going to surface again this year, do we know?

YOUNG: Well, I hope they won't. So far we've really had no indication that there's going to be problems. But as we get closer and closer to the crucial December 25 deadline, we'll see. Last year, as you mentioned, there were some problems. Toys "R" Us didn't get stuffed toys underneath the tree in time, so that was a big problem, so they offered lots of vouchers. This year they've paired with Amazon.com. And as a matter of fact, lots of people have paired up with Amazon.com, because they figured out that Amazon really knows how to do this business. So hopefully we will not see the glitches that we did last year.

COOPER: And what are some of the best sites out there for shopping online this year?

YOUNG: Well, Amazon would definitely be the first. They've hooked up actually with 400 apparel makers, they've got free shipping. Free shipping by far is the overall theme that you're going to this year. Bestbuy.com, barnesandnoble.com, pretty much everybody is offering free shipping. And don't forget about the free tax, no taxes. So definitely an incentive to go online.

COOPER: And if we're looking for deals, what's the best place for deals?

YOUNG: Well, in our new issue of "Smart Money," the December issue, we really like two sites. One is Edealcatcher.com, the other one is dealfinder.com. These sites go out and they survey like the 300 biggest sites, and they give you the coupon codes and some discounts. I found some discounts, for example, 15 percent off Ann Taylor today. And you can also find some good discounts at Barnes & Noble and lots and lots of electronics companies right now. Big discounts.

COOPER: Fifteen percent at Ann Taylor, that can add up.

YOUNG: Yeah.

COOPER: How do you protect yourself, though, from being scammed? How do you know the site you're dealing with is a legitimate one?

YOUNG: That's a really good question, Anderson. I think the best place to go is something called bizrate.com. Really popular site. What they do is they basically rank customer service, on-time delivery of 2,000 of the largest sites. And it's customers writing in like you and basically saying how they rate the site. So I find that that's a really instructive way to go to learn from other people, from their mistakes, and hopefully from their successes.

COOPER: All right, Lauren Young, "Smart Money" magazine, smart advice, thanks very much.

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