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RAPAPORT... U.S. sales at brick-and-mortar retailers disappointed analysts over the Thanksgiving weekend with preliminary estimates falling by 11.3 percent year on year to $50.9 billion, according to the National Retail Federation. However, ecommerce sales continued to show robust growth on both Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday, as followed by comScore Inc. “Thanksgiving and Black Friday both saw exceptionally strong online growth rates as each day surpassed $1 billion in desktop spending,” said comScore's chairman emeritus, Gian Fulgoni. “The strength we saw in the early online buying rush likely reflects a few things, including overall health in consumer spending, responsiveness to the strong deals being offered online and perhaps some shoppers opting to stay home on Thanksgiving rather than head out to the stores that opened their doors early. Regardless of the particular drivers, it’s clear that the online holiday rush is getting off to a very good start and is reason for optimism as we get into the heart of the buying season.” For the first 28 days of the Christmas spending season, which comScore defined as November 1 to December 31, online retail sales have risen 15 percent year on year to $22.7 billion. Online sales for Thanksgiving Day jumped 32 percent to $1.009 billion, while they rose 26 percent on Black Friday to $1.505 billion, comScore noted. The comScore 2014 holiday forecast suggests that U.S. consumers will spend $61 billion with retailers through their desktop computer this season, representing a 16 percent increase from 2013, while mobile ecommerce is expected to jump 25 percent to $7.9 billion.
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