Photo by Ekaterina Bolovtsova /Pexels
Good morning! You have arrived at your shopping destination. Your attire can be casual (very casual — slippers are OK) and your parking is free. Just pour another cup of java, and settle in.
We understand that you don’t need us to tell you about online shopping anymore, but consider this a gentle ping that today is Cyber Monday.
Part of that ping is a plea to not forget to shop local merchants today.
The Pasadena Chamber of Commerce’s website lists about 30 categories of local businesses from bakeries to flowers, sportswear to music, and pets to pet food. Many of whom are selling their goods and services online.
While Old Pasadena shops enjoyed a brisk business over the weekend on Black Friday and Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday may be the most powerful shopping day of the year. Everything you can think of is on sale. That’s pretty much the idea for 24 hours.
In Old Pasadena, places like Homage (offering inspired gifts and jewelry) and and the audacious Gold Bug (simply amazing objets) are online and ready for you.
There’s artful living, offered online at Maude Woods. And Pasadena’s love affair with the Craftsman movement is alive and well with dozens of offerings at the Gamble House’s virtual gift store.
Deliciousness, too. (Like seasonal moist cakes from Nothing Bundt Cake, and rich chocolates from local chocolatiers Mignon).
And don’t forget the flavorful possibilities by ordering gift cards from your favorite local restaurateur (think El Portal, Gale’s, Smitty’s, Bistro45, Parkway Grill, El Cholo).
For that holiday dinner, look to the exquisite offerings from NoortoGo.com. (Why spend that holiday in the kitchen?)
According to BlackFriday.com, (yes, of course there is such a site) and Adobe Analytics, the prediction is that, while spending growth won’t be as dramatic as in previous years, Cyber Monday ecommerce sales will still hit $10 billion this year, an increase over last year’s $9.4 billion in spending, but a much smaller jump than in past years.
With COVID-19 casting a pall of uncertainty over the economy, there’s a good chance consumers will have less to spend, and thus might spend more more carefully this year, said the site.
As BlackFriday.com also noted, Cyber Monday will work to retail’s advantage, however, as shoppers could be eager for an online adventure that lets them snap up their holiday must-haves without entering stores.
According to the National Retail Federation, holiday sales during November and December will increase between 3.6 percent and 5.2 percent over 2019 to a total between $755.3 billion and $766.7 billion.
The numbers, which exclude automobile dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants, compare with a 4 percent increase to $729.1 billion last year and an average holiday sales increase of 3.5 percent over the past five years.
“As a result of store shutdowns and stay-at-home orders last spring, not all retailers and categories have rebounded as quickly, including small and mid-sized retailers. However, in the aggregate retail sales have seen a V-shaped recovery, growing both month-over-month and year-over-year each month since June,” NRF said in its 2020 Holiday Forecast.
