Cyber Monday Means Big Sales Today

Today is Cyber Monday, the traditional start of the online holiday shopping season, with some experts predicting a 20% hike in online sales this year over last, with total Internet shopping season sales expected to near $25 billion.

For just today, the comScore Media Metrix research firm predicts Cyber Monday sales of $700 million, well over the $608 million for Cyber Monday 2006.

Instead of getting up early for the bargains like so called Black Friday shoppers did at brick and mortar stores the day after Thanksgiving, most Cyber Monday online sales are made during working hours, as cyber shoppers use the fast Internet connections at work to comparison shop and place their orders.

According to a study commissioned by Shop.org, 54.5% of office workers with Internet access — or 68.5 million people — will shop at work today, up from 50.7% in 2006 and 44.7% in 2005. A lot of the retail stores like Toys "R" Us and Macy's are hosting one-day only Cyber Monday specials.