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Cyber Monday, typically the largest annual online shopping day, proved profitable for many Hawaii retailers.
Hilo Hattie said its eCommerce business climbed 15 percent as of 3 p.m. Monday, compared with the entire day last year. The company was projecting Monday’s online sales to be at least 20 percent to 30 percent higher than last year.
Honolulu Cookie Co. offered half off of shipping on orders between $100 and $400 and said sales nearly doubled from Cyber Monday a year ago.
Even a tiny boutique in Ward Warehouse, Eden in Love, which recently launched an online store, said it had more than 120 orders by Monday afternoon, compared with 10 to 12 orders in a typical week.
"More and more consumers want to avoid long lines, the uncomfortable physical disruption of shopping in a brick-and-mortar store," said Mark Storfer, executive vice president and chief operating officer for Pomare Ltd., parent company of Hilo Hattie.
Offering free or low-cost shipping is key, said Storfer. "Especially for consumers out of state purchasing Hawaii products."
Hilo Hattie offers free shipping on orders of more than $100 and expects double-digit growth each year in online sales over the next five years. It plans to launch an eCommerce site in Japanese in the next few months, followed by sites in Korean and Chinese, Storfer said.
"We are so excited and bullish on our eCommerce business," he said, adding that the company recently created a new position to focus specifically on online sales and has been promoting deals on Twitter and Facebook and through email blasts to a distribution list of more than 250,000 shoppers.
Marc Honma, president of Wholesale Unlimited Inc., which sells crack seed and other Hawaii snacks, said online sales from Black Friday through Cyber Monday grew at least 30 percent from last year, mostly from mainland customers.
"More and more people every year are doing their shopping online because of convenience, and you’re able to get things that you might not be able to find locally," he said. "Obviously the people who have moved away from Hawaii can’t find these kinds of snacks on the mainland. It seems to be showing that the economy is improving and people are spending more."
Honolulu Cookie Co., with a dozen stores on Oahu and Maui, chose not to offer any Black Friday deals this year, instead offering a Cyber Monday special on shipping.
"Last year we didn’t have a Cyber Monday promotion," said Chelsea Ing, a customer service representative. "(This year) we wanted more of the business to come through the Web, to kind of build that volume."
Eden in Love owner Tanna Dang said she was overwhelmed by the online traffic at her site. "It’s crazy. We started getting orders instantly from 12:01 a.m., and it hasn’t stopped. I can’t even keep up, it’s so many. We didn’t know what to expect; this was our first time. It’s awesome. For us as a small business, it’s a big deal."
The boutique, which saw more than 1,000 shoppers flood two Ward Warehouse conference rooms on Black Friday, offered a 30 percent off online promotion plus free shipping until midnight Monday.
"(Sales are) going to probably be at least six to seven times the amount they’re going to do in the store," Dang added. "We’ve been replenishing our inventory online all day from 8 a.m. because we just keep selling out. It’s convenience. People are busy, they have jobs, they have kids. Nothing beats going into a store, trying things on, getting the service, but this is really the next best thing. You can do all of your Christmas shopping with one click."
Some shoppers who skipped the crowds on Black Friday were happy to shop online instead.
"I would rather shop online," said Moiliili resident Damon Schmidt, 36, who purchased a PlayStation 3 for $199 on Amazon.com. "My time is better spent doing more productive things than sitting around in the middle of the night waiting for a store to open."
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