Savvy Shoppers Won't Wait for 'Cyber-Monday' to Hunt for Bargains Online; Circuit City Survey Shows Many Consumers Search Web Ea

RICHMOND, Va., Nov. 20  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- A new national survey commissioned by Circuit City Stores, Inc. indicates many consumers will be trolling the Web for bargains before "Cyber Monday," the traditional beginning of the online holiday shopping season.

"We don't dispute that 'Cyber Monday' is still a phenomenon in the marketplace, and we will offer great Web-only specials that day," said David Mathews, who heads up the Circuit City Web site as president of Circuit City Direct.  "But our experience shows that online shoppers aggressively search for holiday gifts earlier.  We'll offer hundreds of Web specials for the holidays and we won't wait until the Monday after Thanksgiving to start posting them.  In fact, many of the special promotions featured in Circuit City's highly anticipated Thanksgiving Day newspaper circular will be available that very same day at http://www.circuitcity.com/."

According to the Circuit City survey, two thirds of American consumers hunt for bargains on Thanksgiving weekend.  A majority of that group (57 percent) reported they will shop in stores and online.  Thirty-six percent said they hunt for Thanksgiving weekend bargains only in stores.  Seven percent of Thanksgiving weekend bargain shoppers conduct their search exclusively online.

"Cyber Monday" is the accepted term for a trend that developed several years ago, when consumers would head back to work after the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend and shop for holiday gifts online.

The "Circuit City Cyber Shopping Survey" was commissioned by Circuit City Stores, Inc. and conducted on the Internet by Decision Analyst, Inc. of Arlington, Texas.  The survey's margin of error is plus or minus two percentage points.

About Circuit City Stores, Inc.:

Circuit City Stores, Inc. is a leading specialty retailer of consumer electronics and related services. The domestic segment operates through 638 Superstores and five other locations in 158 U.S. markets. The international segment operates through more than 950 retail stores and dealer outlets in Canada. Circuit City also operates Web sites at http://www.circuitcity.com/, http://www.thesourcecc.ca/ and http://www.firedog.com/.

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DATASOURCE: Circuit City Stores, Inc.



CONTACT: Jim Babb, Media Relations of Circuit City Stores, Inc.,

[phone]



Web site:  http://www.circuitcity.com/

http://www.thesourcecc.ca/

http://www.firedog.com/ 

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