Ecommerce Spending on Thanksgiving Rose to $1 Billion

Black Friday is dying, and this is great for eCommerce retailers, who are seeing sales growth strengthen as consumers change their shopping habits.

As a result, Americans spent over $1 billion online just on Thanksgiving day, and over $6.5 billion for the full Thanksgiving weekend.

On Monday, stocks took a dive on headlines that Black Friday sales took a dive. With a decline of 11% year over year, Black Friday sales hinted there was seen as a reason to worry that retail was getting hit hard, and the U.S. economic recovery might not actually be happening.

That interpretation is wrong, says NRF President Matthew Shay. Actually, poor Black Friday numbers indicate a better economy: “A strengthening economy that changes consumers’ reliance on deep discounts, a highly competitive environment, early promotions and the ability to shop 24/7 online all contributed to the shift witnessed this weekend,” he said, adding that holiday shopping is undergoing an “evolutionary shift.”

Part of that evolution is the move towards eCommerce and earlier shopping.

While many talked about a shopping boycott on Thanksgiving, few seem to have a problem with firing up a laptop or tablet and making a purchase here or there. As a result, holiday shopping on Thanksgiving Day rose 32% year-over-year to over $1 billion.

This growth isn’t just an eCommerce story—it’s a mobile web story. The ease of mCommerce and eCommerce focused apps has made it easier than ever to buy stuff online, so now people can do their post-dinner shopping on the couch while watching football with the family.

Smart eCommerce retailers know this, which is why mobile commerce infrastructure has seen huge investments this year. The laggards, however, are probably lamenting that their holiday sales figures were much lower than the market average.