text: Cyber Monday was bigger than ever before this year. The AP reports that shoppers were expected to spend a record $9.4 billion this past Monday–a whopping 19 percent increase from last year. The busiest hour of the day was expected to be the last hour, as shoppers raced to beat deadlines and claim their discounts. Adobe Analytics, which tracks online transactions, said top selling items for the day included Frozen 2 toys, Samsung TVs and Apple laptops, as well as Amazon Echo devices.
  The day was created by marketers in 2005, and was designed to encourage people to shop at work where faster connections made it easier to browse. Adds Rob Graf of Salesforce, which analyzes online shopping. “Retailers are still using [the day] as a big milestone and driving heavy discounts.” Salesforce also said that discounts averaged 30 percent off this year, the steepest discounts of the year.