Shop Locally, Online! (NAPSA)—American shoppers are expected to spend nearly $220 billion this holiday season, with the average shopper shelling out $655 on gifts for family and friends. Though growing numbers will opt for the point-and-click convenience of online shopping, 93 percent of all holiday purchases will still be made at traditional brick-and-mortar stores. Shopping online can makeit easy to find gifts. But the experience of sitting alone at a computer maynotsatisfy the primal huntergatherer instincts of the true shopper who loves to check out the deals and specials at local merchants. Experienced shoppers know that real savings are out there—if they look in the right place at the right time. Suppose, though, you find the perfect cashmere sweater on sale at one store. If you buy it on the spot, you risk finding the same sweater at a lower price at another store. Depending on the first store’s return policies, you may or may not be able to return the higher priced item. If you decide to delay the purchase until you’ve checked out the competition, you might return to the origi- nal store only to find the item out of stock. Americansare crafty shoppers. Retail industry analysts say that more than half plan to comparison shop this season before buying. One in three will wait for sales to begin, playing their annual game of holiday “chicken” with retailers. Now you can find the best deals in the stores before you go. Retail Radar This year, consumers in the know will shop locally but use the Internet as their retail radar to scope out the best sale prices before hitting the stores. A new service, Cairo.com, combines the price-hunting power of the Internet with the convenience of the local phone book. After entering your zip code and the item you're interested in purchasing, you can price-shop for gift items at dozens of major retailers in your area. Additional personal shoppingservices include the ability to track price guarantees and rebates, and to receive e-mail notifications of sales events or when items you're interested in go on sale. This gives you an unfair advantage over other shoppers by showing you the best sales prices in town before you leave home. For more information, visit www.cairo.com.
