Online Christmas shopping pressure intensifies

Christmas countdown, 12, 11, 10 ...

Bambi Francisco [CBSMarketWatch.com] | POSTED: 12.15.04 @00:33

SAN FRANCISCO - At a recent gathering, a friend of mine was in a sour and pensive mood, which prompted someone to observe: "You must have spent the day shopping." We all nodded in affirmation. Time is running out, after all. Only 12 more days and Christmas is here. Are the words "out of stock" or "out of that size" becoming an all-too-familiar refrain? It's not all shopping horror stories for everyone, however. Another friend cheerfully offered to share her "wonderful shopping experience," which immediately prompted a look of incredulity and uniform response: "Do tell!" "Well... it was online," she said, with a waggish grin.

As I said last week in "My Christmas wish list" Part I column: Thank goodness for the Web.

I'm not alone. Sixty-three percent of consumers surveyed said they were 'very satisfied' or 'somewhat satisfied' with the online shopping experience, according to a just-released report by Goldman Sachs, Harris Interactive and Nielsen//NetRatings.

The same report showed that five weeks into the holiday shopping season, consumers have spent $12.7 billion on the Web.

Virtual registers will be ringing up even more sales if last-minute shoppers do their buying online. Only 1 out 4 people surveyed said they're done holiday shopping, according to the same Goldman report. This compares to 1 out of 3 last year.

Shopping.com's chairman and CEO Dan Ciporin said that the early part of this week should be the busiest shopping days online, based on the activity he's seeing on his site. In fact, he said that Shopping.com's lead, or referral, revenue is on track to be 20 percent higher than the lead sales generated on Black Monday, the busy online shopping day around Thanksgiving. He wouldn't say what those sales were, but according to comScore, sales on that Monday topped $400 million, or 30 percent more than last year.

Ciporin visited the MarketWatch studios Monday morning.

So, now that we're down to the wire, where should you go and what are some last-minute gifts you can get?

For starters, use a comparison-shopping site. Many products will likely be out of stock. Who wants to go through the whole process at an online store all the way to the checkout counter to find out the item is out of stock? Not all online merchants tell you upfront. On Shopping.com, the inventory is updated, and this site will let you know immediately whether an item is available at a store.

Additionally, according to the Goldman report, 63 percent of those surveyed said that price was most important to them. Well, comparison-shopping sites do let shoppers compare prices.

Now for those holiday-gift-giving ideas: As I said last week, tech gadgets are increasingly affordable these days. The average price of digital cameras dropped 22 percent to $343 in 2004 from $439 in 2003, according to Shopping.com.

Flat panel TVs dropped 33 percent to $744 from $1,113 last year. And, MP3 and digital media players dropped 18 percent to $240 this year from $291 last year.

Tech gadgets are also increasingly appreciated. Forget those ties and sweaters for your father. Think smaller, faster, extremely easy and fun tech gadgets. About six years ago, I gave my dad the latest, greatest Palm Pilot of that time to organize his contact list. He gave it back to me because he thought nothing could be easier and smaller than his sheet of paper with hand-written address information on it. I'm sure we all have a family member who's unwilling to let go of his old habits. Today, my dad's the chronicler of family events with his oh-so-tiny-and-easy-to-use digital camera, and he's happy to receive more tech gadgets.

Here are some more ideas.

Apparently, the Apple iPod is the No. 1 item searched for on Shopping.com, according to Ciporin. You can get the Apple iPod 20 gigabyte device (which holds 5,000 songs) on one of the stores on Shopping.com for $293. The top five products in the digital media category also include lower-priced items, such as the Freecom Beatman Flash Recorder 128 megabyte for $93, an Irock 830 for $101, and a Cowon System iAudio 256 megabyte player for $124.

Keep in mind, if you're uncomfortable buying from an unfamiliar online store, look for the "Trusted store" icon on Shopping.com. That means the store is a reputable place to shop, at least, according to Shopping.com.

Are you like me and need wireless access with your coffee to go? Netgear makes a wireless travel router that turns your hotel room or wherever you are (like a friend's home that does not have wireless connectivity) into a hotspot! Check out Netgear's description. It's called a 54 Mbps Netgear wireless travel router, model WGR101. You can go to Shopping.com or Google's Froogle to compare prices. Froogle's top-listed merchant for this product is Comp-U-Plus.com. This site is offering this router for $63, plus a $20 mail-in-rebate, making the price $43. CNet's Mysimon.com comparison shopping site shows that on eCost.com, this Netgear wireless travel router is available at $62.77. As of Monday, there are four free shipping days left if you shop at eCost.com . This price beats out a $76.94 price on Amazon.com and the $99 price at CompUSA.

Did you know that you can get flat-panel TVs that cost more than $1,000 last year for about half that price today? Also on Shopping.com, a couple of top-selling flat panel TVs that are below $500 include the Sharp Aquos LC-20EIu for $491, down 55 percent from last year's price of $1,080. There's also the Relisys RTL 1720 for $282, down 47 percent from $531 last year.

Apparently on Shopping.com's consumer demand index, the most searched toy is called: Tyco Terrain Twister. This toy is radio controlled and capable of rumbling through grass, sand, pavement, water and even snow. This toy was offered at KBtoys.com for $64.99. But too bad - it's out of stock. And, can you believe it? If you go to KBtoys.com, you wouldn't know that this toy was out of stock. But go to Shopping.com, and this comparison-shopping site will immediately let you know if the item is in stock or not. (It's another reason, I like using this site to shop). Shopping.com also lists Wal-Mart.com as a place to get the popular Terrain Twister. But you'll have to pay up a tad more. On Wal-Mart's Walmart.com, the Tyco toy is available for $76.93.

Last week, I listed a keychain digital camera on Overstock.com that went for $19.99. Unfortunately, this product was snapped up off the shelves. Today, Overstock.com is listing another keychain camera. This time it's $29.99, but it's a cute little gift for those novice photo takes you know. Go to www.overstock.com .

OK. So, flowers don't exactly fit with the tech theme. But if you're like me, flowers do bring about a smile that tech gadgets just can't. Provide Commerce , which operates Proflowers.com and other properties that deliver meat and fruit baskets, said its flower delivery business will guarantee flower deliveries to ensure that its flowers are delivered by Christmas. And, that's even if you forget to shop until the 23rd. Provide Commerce CEO said that you can place an order as late as Dec. 23 midnight eastern, and the flowers will be delivered by Christmas.

The iPod speakers would make great side presents, as I said last week. If you can't afford speakers, and you'd really like to get someone an iPod-related gift, why not give them a sock or two? No, I'm not talking about socks you wear. But it's the same concept, hence the appropriate name for these wooly items. These socks come in different colors, and just like socks do, they protect, and keep whatever's in them safe and warm (because we don't want our little iPods to freeze). A box of six socks in different colors is available for about $29. Go to any of the comparison-shopping sites. But for those with small budgets, and partial to that bright-primary-color green, on eBay , one green sock, is available at $5. Then there's the fashionable sock, or what's called a "foofpod." Foofpod, located at foofpod.com sells iPod covers that come in tweed, herringbone and even paisley. This foofpod goes for $12. Check out site.

This year, more camera phones will be sold than digital cameras and film cameras combined. People love taking pictures, and, some might even want to print them. I found a Canon PIXMA iP2000 for $79.88 on Wal-Mart.com. It takes about 50 seconds for this printer to spit out a 4 inch by 6 inch color photo. And, it can print photos up to 8.5 x 11 inches. (Of course, you can always go to your local camera shop and get digital photos developed for 39 cents a piece and no waiting time.)

This may not be a gift necessarily. But if you have digital videos on your digital camera, like I do, and if you've had problems forwarding these mega files via e-mail, you might try Grouper.com. Rather than putting video clips on a CD, you can sign up for Grouper.com and upload your digital videos. Grouper was founded to solve this very problem - sharing video clips with friends.

I just received a Big Bertha Driver for my birthday. After playing with the same driver for 15 years, this was a treat. If you're a golf enthusiast, or know one, besides the TaylorMade rescue clubs, the TaylorMade r7 quad driver is getting good reviews. The club comes with metal plugs that can change the center of gravity and help steer those balls that have a tendency to slice. Try golfgalaxy.com for some pretty good prices on golf items.

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I think this a good idea for a before Christmas column. But, the ole reporter in me kept noticing omissions:

1) It doesn't do much good to know how much money will be spent online without a comparison to regular, offline spending.

2) Reads too much like an advertisement for Shopping.com. Other comparison sites are not mentioned or barely mentioned.

3) Amazon, the 800-pound gorilla of Internet sales, is noticeably omitted, leaving a huge hole. Newsworthy things are going on with Amazon. They've had recent troubles with their servers. And, the most popular electronic gadget of the shopping season, the iPod, is sold out there in some models. (So are some of the peripherals for the iPod.)

However, I did pick up an idea for a present from this entry -- the traveler's WiFi router. I'll be looking into that.

Perhaps other commenters will fill in the gaps by adding shopping news they've picked up.