SALT LAKE CITY - A survey by the National Retail Federation says a record 247 million shoppers visited retailers during the Black Friday weekend, meaning record sales for retailers, and online businesses are hoping to score some more sales with Cyber Monday.
Shopping online has risen over the last few years. Some prefer the convenience of being able to shop from the comfort of their own home, but others prefer being able to see and touch what they're going to buy before paying for it.
"I want to see what I'm getting. And I like the whole hustle and bustle of everything," said Heather Solomon, who was out shopping this weekend.
Some shoppers like Darcy Daley will go to stores to see what they want then head back home to buy them online.
"We came down to look at things, price things out, and then we'll go home and shop online," Daley said.
Online retailers, including many based in Utah - like Backcountry.com and Overstock.com - are counting on customers heading online to do their shopping.
"Cyber Monday will be, if not the biggest day, the second or third biggest day in terms of sales," said Jill Layfield, CEO at Backcountry.com. "People will come back online when they're at work Monday and do some big shopping."
Online shopping researcher comScore, Inc., says online sales are already booming. Shoppers spent more than $1 billion on Black Friday for the first time ever.
"Black Friday has become a huge day for online sales," Layfield said. "It was better than expected. We beat goal. We were up 30 percent year over year, it was a big big day for us."
Layfield says cyber selling no longer banks on one big day of sales, but on every day between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
"It's typically called cyber eight, and it's been started to be called cyber ten, and we've extended it to be called 21. I think every year online shopping gets bigger and bigger," Layfield said.
Online shopping can still help the local economy. Look for local businesses' websites to see if there is an option for online purchasing.
