NEWS
Black Friday, Cyber Monday trends are unclear

Black Friday deals are on, but don’t forget about the biggest online shopping event of the year, Cyber Monday. Known for it’s deep discounts and site-wide deals, Cyber Monday is the day to get deals across every product category, from the comfort of your own home. Offers.com & BlackFriday.com recently conducted an in-depth survey to find data on consumer shopping trends for the holiday shopping season.
Our survey found that Cyber Monday beats out Black Friday in popularity for the second year in a row.
“With online retailers undercutting brick-and-mortar retailers (and the obvious convenience factor), online shopping is becoming increasingly compelling for shoppers. With the convenience of online shopping, shoppers are able to purchase just about anything they can imagine from the comfort of their own home and score the same deals or even better as they would in-store. Our data also shows some interesting trends when it comes to shopping both online and on mobile this holiday season.” – Howard Schaffer, GM of Offers.com.
General Cyber Monday trends:
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Cyber Monday beats out Black Friday in popularity for the second year in a row, with nearly 72% of consumers planning to shop online for Cyber Monday and only 69% shopping the traditional Black Friday sales
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Experts predict huge travel deals this Cyber Monday and Travel Deal Tuesday, with airfare deals continuing throughout the week, with some of the biggest savings after Cyber Monday.
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Cyber Monday is most popular among younger consumers. Among 18-to-34-year-olds, 88% plan to shop on Cyber Monday (compared to 74% of 35-to-54-year-olds and 52% of the 55+ crowd).
Mobile trends:
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Technology continues to play a major part of the shopping holiday with a 17% increase in mobile use in the past two years.
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Nearly three-quarters of consumers (73%) plan to use their mobile devices to assist with holiday shopping.
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Mobile use is not up from people shopping on their phones, but from consumers heavily relying on mobile devices to look for coupons, compare prices, check reviews and get directions to the store for an optimal holiday shopping experience.
Millennial trends:
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Although Cyber Monday proved to be favored more overall, Black Friday shopping garnered a surprising surge of popularity with millennials.
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Younger generations are 19% more likely than any other age group to hit the brick-and-mortar stores come Thanksgiving and Black Friday.
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As the tech generation, 88% of millennials will be shopping on Cyber Monday this year – roughly 20% more than the shoppers over 35 who plan to do so.
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Millennials are also more likely to shop for experiences this holiday season than older generations (25% vs 11%), who are more focused on physical items such as clothes and technology.
Online shopping trends:
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With online retailers undercutting brick-and-mortar retailers (and the obvious convenience factor), online shopping is becoming increasingly compelling for shoppers.
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Holiday-shopping aside, the overwhelming majority of U.S. adults (96%) shop online throughout the year. The majority (64%) do so at least monthly, up from 57% in 2016.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday Retail Trends
Stores such as Target, Walmart and Kohl’s will be offering the best deals. Year after year these retailers have shown major discounts on the top items consumers are looking for such as clothing, electronics, gift cards and toys. A new player in the game is Amazon, having risen to the top spot in consumer popularity within the recent years. With Amazon providing sales on both Black Friday and Cyber Monday, plus fast shipping and no lines, it’s not hard to see why the online retail giant has risen to the top.
While Black Friday is known for its deep discounts on specific products, Cyber Monday is known for its sitewide sales. Look for deals on toys, apparel and small appliances if you want to make the most of what Cyber Monday has to offer. If Black Friday is known for its electronics sales, Cyber Monday is the king of clothing. Expect site-wide sales from Kohls, JCPenney and Macy’s where you can save on your entire purchase. Because online selections tend to be bigger than in-store selections, you have more options in your size and have the chance to get up to 40% or 50% off your whole cart.
NEWS
Bowie City Council agenda for April 8

Members of the Bowie City Council will meet at 6 p.m. on April 8 in the council for its only meeting for the month.
The city manager’s report opens the meeting as he discusses the bid openings for the sewer line replacement project phase two and the North Smythe Street sidewalk reconstruction.
There is only one old item of business, the second reading of the ordinance amending water rates. The average residential customer using 2,000 to 3,000 gallons of water per month will see an increase of $5 to $7.50 based on usage. This is the first water rate increase since 2018.
There are multiple items of new business. The 2023-24 outside audit will be presented by the staff of Mathis, West and Huffines. Four replat requests will be offered through the planning and zoning recommendations.
Base bid amounts for the sewer line replacement project phase two and the Smythe Street sidewalk project also will be reviewed. For the sewer project the base bid is $1,558,103.30. For the sidewalk it is $327,860.66. The sewer work is funded through a loan to the city from the Texas Development Board and the sidewalk through a Downtown Community Development grant program with the city having a matching portion.
The final item before public comments are two ordinance amending the mobile food vendors rules and permits.
NEWS
AI Workshop planned for Bowie Business Boost

After a successful multi-part workshop series last year, the Bowie Business Boost returns with a two-part workshop to take your business to the next level of effectiveness and profitability.
Attend this “AI Made Simple Workshop: Conquer the Tech Chaos and Win Fast” planned for April 24 and May 8. These will be breakfast programs from 7:30 to 10 a.m. The program will be from 8 to 9:30 a.m. with questions and answers to follow. Breakfast will be served 7:30 to 8 a.m.
The programs will be at the Bowie Community Center-west hall. Registration is $20 which includes both sessions. Registration is transferable. Register at accelerationbydesign.com/event-details/bowiebusinessboost25.
Read the full story in the Thursday Bowie News.
NEWS
Saint Jo town hall talks needs, issues

By BARBARA GREEN
editor@bowienewonline.com
About 20 people attended the first of what Mayor Kelly Williamson expects to be regular town hall sessions where citizens can be informed or ask questions on issues in the City of Saint Jo.
Williamson and Police Chief Harvey Johnson conducted the meeting. The mayor was elected last year and is retired from the United States Army. He and his wife, Cathy, moved to Saint Jo about three years ago looking to set down some roots after the military. Their son is serving in the 101st Airborne Division.
The mayor said the top pressing issues he sees for the city are streets, then water and sewer systems. However, he exclaimed it all takes money to do that work, and even if state or federal grants those are often funded 80-20, which still leaves a big hunk for the city to fund.
Read the full story in the Thursday Bowie News.
Top photo – Saint Jo Police Chief Harvey Johnson, Fire Chief Scott Thomas and Mayor Kelly Williamson discussed needs in the city at Saturday’s town hall. (News photo by Barbara Green)
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