“U.S. shoppers went to stores earlier and bought online more than before this Thanksgiving weekend, giving retailers a strong start to the holiday shopping season, data showed on Sunday.
Likely beneficiaries included retailers that have done a better job of combining their physical stores with their online and mobile channels into a seamless shopping experience, analysts said, mentioning the likes of Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Macy’s Inc.
“The more you can make a shopper shop multiple channels, they are at least twice as likely to be a loyal shopper and spend tons of money,” Patty Edwards, chief investment officer at Trutina Financial, said.
Total spending for the weekend rose nearly 13 percent to $59.1 billion from $52.4 billion last year, according to a survey from the National Retail Federation. An estimated 139.4 million adults visited U.S. stores and websites from Thanksgiving through Sunday, up from 131 million last year, the survey, conducted for the industry trade group by BIGinsight, said.
In the latest sign of the growing importance of Internet-based retailing, comScore Inc said “Black Friday” online sales topped $1 billion for the first time, while IBM said online sales rose 16.9 percent year-over-year on Saturday.”
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