Shoppers Have Retailers Singing on Cyber Monday
USA Today
December 01, 2009

In a surprising twist, more online shoppers may have actually clicked through to purchase items on Cyber Monday, the post-Thanksgiving online holiday.

Online sales were up 14% above Cyber Monday 2008, says the website sales tracking firm Coremetrics, which represents 500 major retailers, including Macy's and Nordstrom. The data were mirrored in results for sites including Buy.com, which had more orders in an hour from 1 to 2 p.m. ET than ever in its 12-year history, and eBags.com, which had a 53% increase in sales Monday.

The results could represent an improvement over the holiday weekend: Internet and in-store sales through Sunday were about on par with last year, but the average amount spent per person was down, according to a survey of 5,000 consumers by BIGresearch.

Retailers hoped to do better than that on their websites and often offered bigger price cuts on Cyber Monday, a term coined by the National Retail Federation five years ago when employees noticed an uptick in Web sales, likely from consumers who were shopping from their offices after the holiday. Each year since, more retailers have been adding special one-day promotions, and more shoppers have been visiting store sites.