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If projections are correct, sales number should be up from Black Friday 2008. Looking forward now on Cyber Monday,online sales numbers should reach somewhere in the neighborhood of 30-35% over last years numbers, which according to some economists, almost doesn’t suck. Good news for the retail industry, people were out spending money this weekend. Better news for the online retailers, because it looks like folks really like the ability to avoid the crowds and shop from home.

This years numbers do indicate that people were shopping online much sooner than usual. In prior years online shopping would begin in mid-December, with a lot of research being done before hand. Cyber Monday was developed by online retailers to try to create a “Black Friday” type of phenomenon. Apparently it has been somewhat successful, as online shopping was even busier than the brick and mortar stores.
Many retailers, such as OldNavy.com and Gap.com ran out of stock early in the day, especially the “hot” items, or “door busters”. One gripe I would like to send out to Old Navy/Gap, is their refund policy when they cancel part of your order. They charge your account for the original order, then charge it again for the new order (when they have to revise your order due to lack of stock) without taking the old order off your account, so they have held your money for a couple of days until they get around to releasing the funds. Ridiculous, and really, really bad customer service.
It will be interesting to see who wins out at the end of the season, whether it is online retailers, or the brick and mortar. Overall, I prefer online shopping by leaps and bounds. So much less hassle. The packages arrive, and all you have to do is wrap them up… or get your wife to do it.