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RAPAPORT... U.S. online retail sales grew 19.7 percent year on year for Thanksgiving Day, according to cloud-based IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark, which analyzed traffic and sales for 800 retail websites. The average order value was $127.59. Web traffic from a mobile device to those retailers rose 32 percent this year compared with Thanksgiving Day 2012 and it accounted for 42.6 percent of the total traffic, according to IBM. Sales conducted through a mobile device accounted for 25.8 percent of all online sales, up 49 percent year over year.  IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark observed that smartphones drove 26.6 percent of all online traffic on Thanksgiving Day compared with tablets at just 15.3 percent. However, tablets drove 16.5 percent of all online sales, almost twice as much as smartphones. Tablet users also averaged $126.49 per transaction whereas smartphone users averaged $110 per order. The data also revealed that shoppers who were referred to a retailer's website from Facebook and who ultimately made a purchase spent on average of $105.97 per order, and those who were referred by Pinterest average $103.05 per order. Facebook referrals converted sales at 2.8-times the rate of Pinterest referrals, perhaps indicating stronger confidence in network recommendations, according to IBM. Earlier trends from the data this week revealed that online sales surged 60 percent year on year at department store chains on November 25. On that day, strong sales growth was observed across IBM's network for apparel, which surge 41 percent year on year, followed by home goods (up 17 percent) and health and beauty products (up 16.6 percent).
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