Online shopping sales surge on Black Friday

On the eve of “Cyber Monday,” online retailers reported an even stronger start to the holiday shopping season than brick-and-mortar stores. Research firm comScore reported on Sunday that e-commerce spending jumped 26 per cent on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, compared with the same day a year ago. ComScore reported US$816 million in online sales for the day, up from US$648 million. The 26 per cent growth rate for online sales compares with a 7 per cent retail sales increase reported for Black Friday by ShopperTrak, which gathers data from individual stores and shopping malls. At US$11.4 billion, the brick-and-mortar sales total still dwarfs the online total.

Gian Fulgoni, comScore chairman, said in a statement that e-commerce enjoyed a banner day, despite some analysts’ predictions that early store openings on Black Friday could hurt online sales. “With brick-and-mortar retail also reporting strong gains on Black Friday, it’s clear that the heavy promotional activity had a positive impact on both channels,” Fulgoni said. Thanksgiving is also a big day for online sales, and comScore reported an 18 per cent increase this year compared with a year ago, with US$479 million in sales. Online sales also have been strong throughout November. Online sales through Saturday rose 15 per cent compared with the same period a year ago.