Christmas rush
Christmas used to be the highlight of the year for retailers, but as savvy consumers buy presents far in advance or wait for the January sales, recent festive periods have tended to disappoint.
So there must be some serious trepidation from retailers in the run up to this one, coming as it does in the middle of a global financial calamity of biblical proportions. With that in mind, just as we see the government taking extraordinary measures to encourage spending, expect to see an increasing number of initiatives from anxious retailers.
One such move has just been announced by giant etailer Ebuyer. It has extended that latest time you can order something from the site and still get it delivered the next day by two hours, to 10pm.
Ebuyer reckons it already led the market with its 8pm deadline and, perhaps optimistically, says it's extending it further because "Christmas 2008 promises to be as hectic as ever".
"We all know Christmas is a busy time of year and with shopping days running out, fast delivery is a must. At Ebuyer we want to give something back to our customers, with that in mind we have made shopping on Ebuyer.com this year faster and easier than it ever has been," said Will Healy, the head of marketing at Ebuyer.
The offer runs until 10pm on 23rd December. Details of Ebuyer's Christmas delivery times can be seen here and details of its delivery charges are here.
Also, don't forget that HEXUS.community members get free shipping with etailer Scan. Details of the offer are available here.