Holiday sales to get push on 'Cyber Monday'

LOS ANGELES -- US online holiday sales are expected to hit nearly $20 billion this year and should take off on Monday, when consumers return to work and their fast Internet connections after the long Thanksgiving weekend.

Cyber Monday, the term coined for the Monday after Thanksgiving, comes on the heels of the busy Black Friday shopping day when many brick-and-mortar retailers begin turning a profit.

The good news for online shoppers this year is that Cyber Monday is becoming the Web shopping equivalent to Black Friday, when retailers launch major sales and discounts to drive traffic, analysts said.

Consumers are forecast to spend $19.6 billion on nontravel goods on US Internet sites during November and December, up 24 percent from $15.8 billion during the same period last year, according to comScore Networks.

That accounts for less than 5 percent of total holiday sales in the United States but excludes large corporate purchases and sales on auction sites like eBay Inc.

Concerns about returns and the inability to touch and feel items are major issues now for consumers who in recent years had listed security as a top Web-shopping worry, he said.

Massive site outages are now uncommon. Still, some shoppers were reporting yesterday that online ordering was temporarily unavailable on Best Buy Co. Inc.'s website. Representatives for the retailer did not immediately return calls seeking comment.