Anticipating super deals similar to those found during the U.S. Thanksgiving weekend at brick and mortar retail stores, consumers scoured search engines for goods related to "Cyber Monday," according to a Google spokeswoman.

Some of the hot terms included "best Cyber Monday deals," "Cyber Monday 2008 sales," American Express wish list," "American girl," "black Monday," and "cybermonday deals."

They must have found what they were looking for, according to Seattle-based Mercent, an online marketing company that serves the retail industry. The company released preliminary sales percentages from some retailers it supports late in the day. Eric Best, Mercent CEO, said during the first 12 hours of Cyber Monday, consumer spent 27% more this year via the 28 retailers the company serves, compared with 2007.

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