By ANDREW FAISON/CONTRIBUTING WRITER
andrew.faison@yahoo.com

FRANKLIN—Lynne Rabil saw a bump in her sales on Monday when compared to the same day last year.

“I don’t know if I can attribute that to Cyber Monday or just the Monday after Thanksgiving,” said Rabil, president of Hubbard Peanut Co. in Sedley. “We have seen progressive increases in our web orders to the point our online orders are well over 50 percent of the orders we receive this time of year.”

Americans were expected to spend $1.5 billion during Cyber Monday, up 30 percent from same day last year, according to IBM Smarter Commerce, which tracks web sales at 500 top online retailers.

Rabil said because orders will increase between now and Christmas, more people begin working at Hubs the first Monday after Thanksgiving.

Jane Gibson, owner of Jane’s Biscuits in downtown Franklin, said 35 percent of her total business for the year comes between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

“It’s busy before Thanksgiving,” said Gibson. “When you get to the week after Thanksgiving, that’s when the orders come in like crazy.”

“I have noticed more business in the state especially around this time of year,” she added. “I have literally shipped around the world. In the past I have shipped to soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq, and just today, I had orders come in from Georgia and Kansas.”