On black Friday, shoppers lined up as much as 12 hours before stores opened their doors to score some major deals on the year's hottest gifts. But large crowds and early mornings aren't for everybody, and for them, there is cyber Monday.
"You get great savings on cyber Monday, a lot of free shipping and little one time special deals and the best part. I don't have to go to the mall on Friday morning," said cyber Monday shopper, Dorene Kordal.
Dorene Kordal is the mother of two daughters. Daughters who have long Christmas lists and want the newest and coolest electronics.
"This is one thing I'll be getting today. It's a Kindle and my daughter's a big reader so she'll like that,” said Kordal.
For Dorene, shopping online also offers her incentives that better match her buying needs.
"What I'm seeing in department stores is they don't put the fragrance on sale. They'll give you extra things like a tote bag. Well I don't need a tote bag, I need the 15% off and free shipping."
But despite the convenience of online shopping, it doesn't have as big of an impact on the economy as you may think.
"If you ask what percent of retailing is done online, most people would greatly under-estimate that percentage in that it's 4%," Louisiana Tech University Department of Marketing head, Barry Babin told NBC 10 News.
So why would shoppers choose to fight for parking and wait in long lines when they can buy their gifts from the comfort of their own homes?
"There's still value in seeing the person you want to buy something from and being able to touch things, and smell things, and know who you're returning them to and that offers a lot of value to the customers," said Babin.
Whatever method you prefer, the stores want your business and are making things easier for the adventurous and more casual shoppers.
