Black Friday, Thanksgiving online sales climb to record high

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 $7.9 billion in online sales on Black Friday and Thanksgiving, up 17.9 per cent 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 $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 postholiday liquidation that would weigh on profits.