Reston, Va. - Online bargain-hunters were expected to flood the Internet on Monday in search of deals on "Cyber Monday," the unofficial kickoff of the online holiday shopping season. According to comScore, the online holiday shopping season already is off to a strong start, with sales on Black Friday up 1% from a year ago. Combining Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday, online sales rose 2%, the firm said.

"Early reports suggest that Black Friday sales in retail stores were slightly better than anticipated in this depressed retail climate, and that performance apparently extended to the online channel," said Gian Fulgoni, the chairman of comScore.

"It's probable that... consumers responded positively to the very aggressive promotions and discounts being offered in retail stores, so it will be important to see how they respond to similarly attractive deals being offered online on Cyber Monday."

The Monday after Thanksgiving was coined "Cyber Monday" by the industry in 2005.

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