‘Cyber Monday’ deals last longer

Associated Press

NEW YORK

After a weekend of strong online sales, retail websites are rolling out the gimmicks on “Cyber Monday” to draw buyers.

The sales promotions on the Monday after Thanksgiving got their name from a retail trade group, which promoted the idea that people, upon returning to work, would log onto their computers there and shop.

Now it’s about the deals online in the way that Black Friday means a shopping frenzy in stores. In fact, as stores promote Black Friday discounts online, it’s getting harder to tell the difference between the two.

IBM’s Coremetrics predicts the discounts, free shipping offers and other come-ons will make Cyber Monday the busiest online shopping day of the season.

The promotion follows a weekend that saw strong sales online. From Thanksgiving through Saturday, online spending rose 14 percent, according to Coremetrics data.

Online research firm comScore reported late Sunday that e-commerce spending for the first 26 days of November rose 13 percent, reaching $11.64 billion, compared with the same period a year ago.

Some retailers had already started touting “Cyber Monday,” including Amazon.com. Walmart.com is promoting “Cyber Week” discounts from Sunday through next Friday.