Cyber Monday turns into Cyber Weekend

Seattle

THE pace of online spending slowed on Cyber Monday after consumers started their Internet shopping earlier over the weekend, turning to their smartphones to pick up deals, according to International Business Machines Corp.

Web-based sales climbed 17 per cent Monday from a year earlier as of 6 pm in New York, after jumping 26 per cent on Saturday and Sunday, IBM said in a report. Still, Cyber Monday remains the biggest online spending day, with total outlays projected to hit a record US$3 billion this year, according to Adobe Systems Inc.