Industry News

There's good news for online retailers this year: Black Friday Internet sales jumped 26 percent, while Cyber Monday spending is projected to reach a record $1.2 billion, according to data released Sunday by market research firm ComScore.

Black Friday online sales were up from $648 million last year to $816 million this year, with 50 million Americans visiting retail websites that day, marking a 35% increase.

The most visited site was Amazon -- with 50 percent more visitors than any other online retailer -- followed by Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Target and Apple. ComScore also said that retail stores saw big increases too, meaning that the online boost wasn't at the expense of bricks-and-mortar shops.

This year's 26 percent marked a bigger year-over-year improvement than in 2010, which was up 9 percent from the previous year.

Meanwhile, ComScore is predicting that Cyber Monday sales could see a $2 million increase over last year's $1 billion, which would set a record for the biggest online spending day of the year.

The Associated Press reported that retail sales on Black Friday were up 7 percent over the prior-year, according to a report from ShopperTrak. The Chicago-based company reported on Saturday that shoppers spent $11.4 billion at retail stores and malls, up nearly $1 billion from last year. That was the largest amount ever spent on the day that marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season, and the biggest year-over-year increase since 2007.