WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The Monday after Thanksgiving is considered the biggest online shopping day of the year.
But shoppers may notice some of the hot items they have been waiting to buy are now out of stock due to supply chain constraints.
Briana D'Andrea is doing all of her holiday shopping from home this year.
She was on the hunt for hot-ticket items Monday.
"The PS5 is insane to get your hands on," D'Andrea said.
This Cyber Monday is expected to surpass 2020's $10.8 billion in online sales, but not without some hiccups.
During her shopping, D'Andrea saw that some items were currently unavailable.
Experts said seeing some high-demand items out of stock might steer shoppers to find a supplier who does have it.
"You have to question the validity of those suppliers and their capability to get it if the big-box retailers weren't able to get those products," said Ian Marlow, the CEO of FitechGelb.
Marlow said this is where scammers try to take advantage of shoppers.
"If it's too good to be true, it definitely is too good to be true," Marlow said.
He said first to make sure the site has "https" on the address bar.
Second, make sure they accept protected forms of payment.
"If they don't take credit cards or other forms of payment that are able to protect you in case you don't actually get the product, you need to say away from them," Marlow said.
Also, he suggests always checking the internet for shopper reviews of the site.
If the item you're looking for is out of stock, experts say don't overlook the value of a gift card from the store. The person you're buying the item for can get what they really want when the product is back in stock.
"I think it's not a bad idea to purchase a gift card, so that you're not left with nothing under the tree," D'Andrea said.
She is a mother, blogger and beauty product consultant who also puts together holiday gift guides.
"I would say if you see it, jump on it because chances are it will be gone," she said. "My daughter wanted one of these pink cameras that instantly print, and it's already unavailable."
She recommends ordering a backup gift to make sure you get it on time.
"Shipping has been an issue, packaging has been an issue. There's a lot that's slowing us down, and I've encouraged everyone to shop earlier," D'Andrea said.
