ChinaVirtuoso

BLACK Friday and Thanksgiving online sales in the United States surged to record highs as shoppers bagged deep discounts and bought more on their mobile devices, heralding a promising start to the key holiday season, according to retail analytics firms.

US retailers raked in a record US$7.9 billion in online sales on Black Friday and Thanksgiving, up 17.9 percent from a year ago, according to Adobe Analytics, which measures transactions at the largest 100 US web retailers, on Saturday.

Adobe said Cyber Monday is expected to drive US$6.6 billion in Internet sales, which would make it the largest US online shopping day in history.

In the run-up to the holiday weekend, traditional retailers invested heavily in improving their websites and bulking up delivery options, preempting a decline in visits to brick-and-mortar stores. Several chains tightened store inventories as well, to ward off any post-holiday liquidation that would weigh on profits.

TVs, laptops, toys and gaming consoles — particularly the PlayStation 4 — were among the most heavily discounted and the biggest sellers, said retail analysts and consultants.

Commerce marketing firm Criteo said 40 percent of Black Friday online purchases were made on mobile phones, up from 29 percent last year.

The National Retail Federation, which had predicted strong holiday sales helped by rising consumer confidence, said on Friday that fair weather across much of the nation had also helped draw shoppers into stores.
The NRF is set to release Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales numbers tomorrow.
US consumer confidence has been firming over this past year, due to a labor market that is creating jobs, rising home prices and stock markets that are at record highs.

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