'It's a huge day': Inside Fall River's Amazon fulfillment center on Cyber Monday
FALL RIVER - Pack lines were packed inside Amazon's fulfillment center in Fall River Monday morning, with cardboard boxes just waiting to be assembled at the start of Cyber Monday.
"It's a huge day," said Katin Miller, the general manager of the 1.4 million square-foot facility.
Coming off a Black Friday that rang up a record $9.1 billion in purchases made by online shoppers alone, according to Adobe Analytics, the question was - would that level of spending continue on what is traditionally the biggest online shopping day of the year?
"This is not a three-day event, this a month-long event," Milller said. "So it's a marathon that feels a lot like a sprint."
Online retailers like Amazon have been planning for months with this moment in mind. The Fall River warehouse is the first stop for a package on the way to a local Amazon customer's door.
Miller said the fulfillment center could ship out 80,000 units per day this week, practically double their daily average.
"We'll be shipping volume, still from Black Friday, but Cyber Monday volume will be shipping today, tomorrow, Wednesday and maybe even until Thursday," she said. "So this will be our biggest day of the year."
Some consumer advocates are warning to watch out for potential scams online. They say if a deal you come across seems too good to be true, it likely is.
"Getting a low price on a lousy product really is no bargain. So you have to do your homework," said Edgar Dworsky of ConsumerWorld.org.
Consumer advocates recommend checking product reviews from verified buyers just to make sure you know what you're signing up for, before you click "place order."
