It’s Cyber Monday: Go Online and Buy Something

Today is Cyber Monday, the online equivalent to the more traditional shopping day of Black Friday. Maybe it is just me, but they sound like such dire names for what should be major shopping days and economic bellwethers in a free enterprise system.

Due to a tough economy, pundits had expected both Black Friday and Cyber Monday to be down this year, but according to a National Retail Federation Black Friday survey conduct by BIGresearch, 172 million shoppers visited stores and websites this Black Friday weekend compared to 147 million shoppers last year. The research also indicated that the average shopper spent $373 this year compared to $348 last year. Total spending was estimated at $41 billion. The survey also indicated almost a quarter of shoppers were at stores by 5 a.m., and over half made it to stores by 9 a.m.

It remains to be seen how this Cyber Monday will compare with last year. In 2007, Cyber Monday sales on retail websites hit $733 million. According to another NRF survey, 84 percent of retailers planned on offering special Cyber Monday promotions on their websites this year. That’s up 72 percent since last year.

If you are looking for a rundown of some of the suspected offers today, visit this site or just check out your favorite retailers online. Chances are you’ll find a good reason to hit “buy now.”