Dec.01,2005

Surfers spent more time online on 'Cyber Monday'

RETAIL

In the first Charlotte-specific numbers showing online activity on "Cyber Monday" this week, comparison-shopping site ShopLocal.com reported that Charlotte-area residents increased their time on the site by 27 percent compared to the same day last year.

ShopLocal.com is a comparison-shopping portal partly owned by Knight Ridder, The Charlotte Observer's corporate parent, along with Gannett and Tribune media companies.

The site reported Wednesday that Charlotte-area residents spent an average of five minutes, 38 seconds searching the site on Monday, compared with four minutes, 22 seconds on the same day a year ago.

The Monday after Thanksgiving has been dubbed "Cyber Monday" because consumers increase their online shopping after returning to high-speed Internet connections at work following the Thanksgiving holiday. The top retailers searched by Charlotte-area residents through the portal Monday: Wal-Mart, Value City, Kohl's, Queen City TV & Appliance and Northlake Mall.

The top five Charlotte search terms: digital cameras, upright freezers, restaurants, video games and Xbox. Specific traffic and spending figures were unavailable. -- Leigh Dyer