Are You Ready for Cyber Monday?

Just when you may have thought the Thanksgiving extended-weekend shopping spree was past, along comes Cyber Monday -- that's today, folks -- the Monday after Thanksgiving, which is supposed to mark the beginning of the online shopping season. Who comes up with these things? In this case, credit the National Retail Federation, which came up with the designation in 2005.

So how will Cyber Monday stack up against Black Friday? Of course, it's too early to tell, but industry experts anticipate the online market to take less of a hit than the in-store market. While predictions for the latter are dire, ranging from the "worst season in decades" to "the worst since 2002," the speculation is that online sales will merely flat-line after years of strong growth. Time will tell.