More than 42 percent of Americans will buy at least one gift online this holiday season, according to the National Retail Federation. Online shopping is increasing for various reasons, including time constraints, convenience, avoiding crowds (and thus, illness), and free shipping! Personally, I like to comparison shop online versus buying something at one store, only to find it cheaper four stores and several hours later!

Today, I had the pleasure of participating in an online press conference with the National Retail Federation, Shop.org and AVG where I learned some great tips for shopping online on Black Friday and Cyber Monday (the Monday after Thanksgiving when lots of shopping happens online and lots of retailers post some great deals on their Web sites). Now I want to share what I learned with you!

• You have GOT to go check out Cybermonday.com. The site aggregates the best deals from more than 600 retail partners (including biggies such as Wal-Mart, Target,  Best Buy, Toys R Us, UGG, NorthFace, etc.) 
• Cybermonday.com will be offering “deals of the hour” on Black Friday and Cyber Monday on the left sidebar, and deals coming up on the right sidebar.  Deals of the week are posted right now!
• Cybermonday.com also posts special offers and coupons.
• If paying for shipping bothers you, Cybermonday.com has a link across the top of the site with free shipping deals. And according to Scott Silverman of the National Retail Federation, about 57 percent of retailers will offer free shipping on Cyber Monday, and many of those will have “no strings attached.” You can also search online for coupon codes that will give you free shipping.
• You can sign up to receive email updates regarding deals for Cyber Monday by subscribing to the newsletter in the right sidebar of the site.
• Starting today and going through Cyber Monday (Nov. 30), Cybermonday.com is giving away $250 in gift cards from Shop.org’s retail partners via the Cybermonday.com Twitter page and Facebook page. You can win by simply following Cybermonday.com on Twitter or becoming a fan on Facebook. In some cases, you will be asked to comment to be entered into that day’s drawing.
• Speaking of Twitter: if you’ve never attended a Twitter event, you should block off 8-9 p.m. ET Tuesday, Nov. 24 on your calendar and follow the conversation with the hashtag #CyberMonday. More tips for shopping on Black Friday and Cyber Monday will be shared, and gift cards will be awarded during the event to participants.

Safety

Before you start clicking and buying on Black Friday and/or Cyber Monday,  make sure your computer and your identity are protected. Here are some tips: 

• According to Beth Jordan, AVG offers free downloads of virus scan and link scan software here and here. I haven’t tried this security software, but there were dozens of Mommy  Bloggers participating in this press conference and several of them sang the praises of AVG over Nortons and McAfee, commenting that it doesn’t slow down their computer, it protects them from link viruses on Twitter and Facebook, etc. I plan to try it, but didn’t want to wait to share this information with you. (*Note — Beth says that whenever the paid version of AVG is updated, the free version is updated too. She also says the company won’t constantly try to “up-sell” you from the free to the paid version.)
• Make sure the sites you are using to shop online include “S” in the URL (https://www) The “S” ensures security.
• Keep your information private. You might even want to create a separate email account just for shopping and use a unique password. Beth suggests changing your password every week and use things like phrases you say to your kids. Use different passwords for your bank account, credit cards, etc. If you need to, write them down and store them in a secure location.

 You also can find safety tips with links to AVG downloads here.

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