Inside these posts: Black Friday

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Cyber Monday online sales surge 20%

Online sales on Cyber Monday surged nearly 20 percent from last year, according to findings from an analytics group released Tuesday.

“Cyber Monday came in as the biggest shopping day of the year so far,” said John Squire, chief strategy officer of Coremetrics, a unit of IBM Corp.
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Black Friday foot traffic up, spending flat

The first major shopping weekend of the holiday season drew more crowds to stores than a year ago, even as spending remained flat, a sign that consumers are in the mood to shop when the price is right.

Foot traffic at U.S. malls and retail outlets rose 2.8 percent for the three days following Thanksgiving, compared with the same period last year, according to ShopperTrak, a Chicago-based research firm. Retail sales remained unchanged from the same period a year ago at $20.49 billion.
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Cyber Monday shopping ramps up

Online shoppers turned out in force on Cyber Monday — the day after a strong holiday shopping weekend — with a retail group predicting a 10 percent increase over last year.

Merchant Web sites drew 1,333,336 global page visits per minute during the noon ET hour, according to e-commerce tracking company Akamai. While that was a solid number, it was actually a little below the noontime peak of 1,337,601 page visits per minute globally three days earlier, on Black Friday, which is supposed to be the big day for traditional stores.
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Bargains hunted, missions accomplished

The holiday shopper are off and running — more or less. Follow what’s happening at the malls and major retailers.

Early bird to catch $500 Blu-Ray Sony laptop

A Sony laptop with a Blu-ray drive or a 50-inch Sanyo plasma television set could be yours for $500 on Black Friday if you’re willing to get up early, according to a Consumer Reports round-up of this weekend’s best gadget deals. Get the full story »

Wal-Mart to offer price matching on ‘Black Friday’

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it will match rivals’ prices on “Black Friday,” upping the ante in the battle to win sales on what is considered to be the kick-off to the U.S. holiday shopping season and a gauge of how overall holiday retail sales will shape up. Get the full story »

60 million shoppers expected on Black Friday

As many as 138 million U.S. shoppers could be hunting for Black Friday bargains during the three days after Thanksgiving, a slight increase over last year’s projections, according to a retail trade group survey released Thursday.

Nearly 60 million Americans plan to hit the stores, more than last year’s forecast of 57 million, while an additional 78 million might join the crowds of shoppers this year if the bargains are good enough, the National Retail Federation said. Get the full story »

Black Friday forecast: Cool, clear … and green

Macy's CEO Terry J. Lundgren, in the Holiday Lane section of Macy's department store in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Cooler weather and clear skies should help boost U.S. sales on Black Friday, the post-Thanksgiving kickoff to the holiday shopping season, a consulting firm said Tuesday.

An expected cold snap will spur consumers to buy more sweaters, scarves and boots, according to Planalytics Inc., a consulting firm that provides research for companies such as Kohls Corp. and Rite Aid Corp. Get the full story »

Trade group forecast: Electronics hot for holidays

Consumers will spend more this holiday on electronics than they have in each of the last 17 years, with laptops and Apple’s iPad topping wish lists, a leading industry trade group said Tuesday.

The average consumer will spend $232 on electronics gifts from TVs and MP3 players to cameras this year, up 5 percent from last year, according to a holiday phone survey of 1,003 U.S. adults conducted by the Consumer Electronics Association. Get the full story »

Pent-up demand could drive record Black Friday sales

Get out your coffee and your coupons. Black Friday, the traditional start of the holiday shopping season, is about to get bigger.

For the past several years, Black Friday has ranked as the largest shopping day of the year, in both sales and traffic. But analysts say a host of factors is converging to make it likely that Black Friday 2010 will set a record. Get the full story »