NEW YORK (AP) -- It only represents 10 percent of the holiday shopping pie. But since that "pie" seems to be getting smaller than ever these days, online sales are becoming an important part of the equation as retailers use the Christmas holiday season to try to salvage something out of a tough year. So it was considered good news when reports began trickling in that sales for Cyber Monday were up. Coremetrics says as of 1 p.m. yesterday, sales were up nearly 20 percent over a year ago. That comes on the heels of news that sales at brick-and-mortar stores over the long holiday weekend came in barely above flat. With traditional retailers having more of an online presence than ever before, merchants are holding out hope that they'll somehow wind up with a satisfying chunk of that "pie."
