Early estimates suggest that holiday shoppers spent eight percent more over the long Thanksgiving weekend this year than they did in 2008. But that growth seems to have been powered more by a record-setting pace of online purchases--culminating in what's come to be known as Cyber Monday--than by Black Friday sales at brick-and-mortar stores, which were up only marginally. Is Cyber Monday destined to replace Black Friday as the biggest day in retail? (Watch a report about Cyber Monday deals that are still available)
Don't buy the hype: "Cyber Monday is a made-up marketing term that has been promulgated by journalists looking for an easy way to write about online retail," says Matthew Bandyk in U.S. News & World Report. Nowadays, "there is no reason why people wouldn't space their Internet shopping" out over their days off. "Couldn't we say the same thing about Cyber Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, etc.?"
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