2012 Black Friday online sales up 29%, in-store sales down

Amazon.com was the most-visited retail website on Black Friday with more than 28 million visits to their site. Amazon was followed by Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Target and Apple.

eBay`s traffic isn`t typically counted in the same category as online retailers, but eBay reported an increase of 153% visits from mobile devices on Black Friday last week.

Digital content and subscriptions (including eBooks, downloadable music and videos) were the fastest growing category online this year.

In-Store Sales Down
In-store sales, however, were down slightly by 0.18%. The average amount consumers spent in stores declined by 0.33% from last year.

Online sales only accou
nt for 10% of holiday purchasing, but are growing at a much faster rate, and taking a bite out of in-store purchases.

Mobile Traffic Up
Mobile devices accounted for 26% of visits to retail websites and were responsible for 16% of the purchases on Black Friday.

Experts speculate that this is due to people using smart phones at physical stores, doing online price comparisons, and then making a purchase online instead of at the cash register.

Online retailers that invested in mobile sites benefited more than those who did not. Sites like Walgreens, ShopNBC.com and J Crew experienced a 117% increase in mobile traffic on Thanksgiving.

Cyber Monday
Yesterday, more than 129 million Americans were expected to shop online – nearly 42% of the United States population.

Statistics aren`t yet available for 2012`s Cyber Monday sales, but early reports show strong demand.