WELCOME BACK. CYBER MONDAY IS HERE WITH SHOPPERS SCOURING THE INTERNET FOR THE BEST DEALS . THE NATIONAL RETAIL FEDERATION PREDICTS ROUGHLY SIXTY THREE MILLION PEOPLE WILL SHOP ONLINE TODAY AFTER MILLIONS HIT THE MALLS ON BLACK FRIDAY. ABC NEWS BUSINESS REPORT ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS IS HERE WITH A LOOK AT THE TRENDS SO FAR . SO LET'S ALEXIS , WHAT ARE THESE EARLY NUMBERS TELL YOU? WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM CYBER MONDAY? I WAS ACTUALLY A LITTLE SURPRISED AT HOW MUCH PEOPLE WERE SHOPPING ALL OVER THE WEEKEND. I MEAN, WE'RE DEALING WITH HIGH INFLATION. WE KEEP TALKING ABOUT IT. WE'RE PAYING MORE FOR JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING. BUT MORE THAN 60% OF AMERICANS DID SAY THAT THE ECONOMY IS STILL GOING TO IMPACT THEIR HOLIDAY SHOPPING PLANS. STILL, WE SAW IN-PERSON VISITS TO THE STORES THREE PERCENT THIS BLACK FRIDAY VERSUS LAST YEAR. I WAS ONE OF THEM. I WENT TO A MALL IN UPSTATE NEW YORK . AND , YOU KNOW, I DIDN'T SEE A LOT OF PEOPLE DOING A LOT OF SHOPPING, ALTHOUGH IT WAS MORE CROWDED. I THINK THEY WERE DOING WHAT I CALL SOCIAL SHOPPING. THEY WERE SORT OF OUT THERE LOOKING AT THINGS, TURNING IT INTO AN OUTING. THEY WERE GOING OUT TO DINNER. RESTAURANT SALES WERE ACTUALLY UP PRETTY BIG THIS PAST WEEKEND. BUT WHEN THEY DECIDED TO SHOP, THEY DID IT ONLINE. YOU SEE RIGHT THERE, ONLINE SALES HITTING A RECORD HIGH ON BLACK FRIDAY TO NINE POINT TWELVE DOLLARS BILLION TODAY. WE'RE EXPECTING IT TO BE EVEN BETTER. SALES COULD TOP ELEVEN POINT TWO BILLION. IF THEY DO, THAT WOULD BE A RECORD . NOW, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE EARLY TOP SELLERS? ARE YOU SEEING ANY TRENDS IN TERMS OF WHAT PEOPLE ARE BUYING? YES, IT'S ELECTRONICS, ELECTRONICS, ELECTRONICS, ANYTHING, APPLE, APPLE WATCH, APPLE MACBOOK. ALSO, WE FOUND OUT TODAY THAT A LOT THE APPLE IPHONES, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE A HARD TIME GETTING THEM BECAUSE OF THE COVID LOCKDOWN'S RIGHT NOW IN CHINA AND BECAUSE OF THE PROTESTS GOING ON , THERE ARE SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES. SO PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO BUY THOSE EARLY DRONES ARE REALLY POPULAR. GAMING IS POPULAR. THE XBOX, THE FIFA. TWENTY THREE GAME, I GUESS WITH THE WORLD CUP OUT NOW, THAT SORT OF TOP OF MIND. >> OH, WHERE ARE YOU SEEING SOME OF THE BIGGEST DISCOUNTS? CONSUMER ELECTRONICS, AGAIN, ESPECIALLY COMPUTERS. I THINK WE'RE DOING SO MANY THINGS ON OUR MOBILE PHONES. THEY'RE REALLY DISCOUNTING THOSE COMPUTERS, TOYS, HEAVILY DISCOUNTED AND CLOTHING. I SAW CLOTHING UP TO 60 PERCENT OFF AND SOME STORES BUY ONE GET TWO FREE AT A CHECK. THAT SIGN A COUPLE OF TIMES. BUT THAT WAS THAT WAS FOR REAL. ALSO, SOME OF THE ITEMS WE COULDN'T FIND DURING THE HEIGHT OF THE PANDEMIC, LIKE THE PADDLEBOARDS FIREPIT, KAYAK'S THAT OUTDOOR STUFF, THE RETAILERS ARE STUCK WITH IT. SO THEY'RE TRYING TO MOVE IT OUT OF THE STORES. ALL RIGHT. WE'LL TAKE THAT. ONLINE SCALE'S ON SCAM'S, I SHOULD SAY, UNFORTUNATELY, ARE ALSO AT AN ALL TIME HIGH AT THIS TIME OF YEAR. AND THIS YEAR PARTICULARLY. SO HOW DO WE PROTECT OURSELVES WHEN WE'RE SHOPPING ONLINE? GREAT QUESTION. IMPORTANT QUESTION. SO MANY OF US ARE ON SOCIAL MEDIA. SO WE WANT TO BE REALLY SUSPICIOUS OF ANY SOCIAL MEDIA ADS AND EMAIL ADS. IT'S A GOLDMINE FOR THESE SCAMMERS. MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE DEALING WITH A LEGITIMATE RETAILER. IF THE DEAL SEEMS TO BE TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, THAT'S BECAUSE IT PROBABLY IS . WE ALSO HAVE A LOT OF THIS TIME AROUND WITH A LOT OF THEM ARE COMING OUT WITH THESE FAKE EMAIL SAYING YOUR CREDIT CARD TRANSACTION FAILED. YOU NOW NEED TO PAY US VIA VENMO OR PAYPAL. THAT IS NOT A LEGITIMATE LOOK FOR MISSPELLINGS IN THE WEBSITE. ADDRESS. THAT IS ALSO A SIGN THAT IT'S A FAKE. AND IF YOU ARE ASKED TO CREATE AN ACCOUNT OR CHECK OUT AS A GUEST, CHECK OUT AS A GUEST, IF POSSIBLE, IT'S NOT A SCAM. BUT YOU DON'T