Retail forecasters were pleased to see some pretty hefty numbers for Cyber Monday, the biggest online shopping day of the year (on the Monday after Thanksgiving). Sales were up 15% coming around $700 million.

147 Million people shopped on line last Monday with one estimate of 4.6 million visitors per MINUTE! They spent $700 Million on Monday CNN reports that online seasonal sales could reach $39 Billion.

Wow.

What are these folks buying?  Looks like Best Buy and Circuit City had the best days. It seems folks are ordering online from Big Box stores to avoid lines and hanging out waiting for sales people. Moms are also discovering that in order to have Santa surprises, presents need to be shipped to offices or grandma's house for secret keeping.

A good Cyber Monday suggests to me that independents who promote holiday spirit and a relaxing atmosphere can draw in the folks who are "done" their shopping after an hour at the computer.

Because while I believe that alot of people "hate" holiday shopping, it's as much a holiday ritual as trimming the tree and lighting the menorah. Online shopping won't keep folks out of stores, it will just redirect them to stores with a more pleasant environment.

What do you think?--Beth