Cyber Monday expected to rack up over $3B in sales

NEW YORK — Shoppers traded bricks for clicks on Monday, flocking online to snap up “Cyber Monday” deals on everything from cashmere sweaters to “Star Wars” toys.

Now that shoppers are online all the time anyway, the 10-year-old shopping holiday has lost some of its luster as online sales on Thanksgiving and Black Friday pick up. But enough shoppers have been trained to look for “Cyber Monday” specific sales to ensure the holiday will still mean big bucks for retailers.

It’s too early for sales figures, but Monday is still expected to be the biggest online shopping day ever, likely racking up more than $3 billion in sales, according to research firm comScore.

As of 7 p.m. Monday, Adobe estimated Cyber Monday sales would rise 12 percent to $2.98 billion by the end of the day. A more complete picture of Cyber Monday sales will be available when comScore releases figures on Wednesday.

“A lot of people wait to see if deals are better on Cyber Monday,” said Forrester Research analyst Sucharita Mulpuru.

Adobe found 13 out of 100 product views returned an out-of-stock message as of 7 p.m., twice the normal rate.

New Yorker Anna Osgoodby was one of the many online shoppers who spread her purchases throughout the weekend. On Black Friday, she took advantage of a 35 percent sale at online accessories retailer ashandwillow. com, buying earrings, a necklace and bracelet. Then she bought earrings and clutches on Monday during its 40 percent off sale.

“That extra 5 percent convinced me to buy a few more,” she said.