E-commerce’s unrelenting march toward domination of the retail industry accelerated during the Thanksgiving holiday, as Americans spent billions more shopping online than they did last year.
Crowds still flocked to stores to scoop up deals on televisions, toys and clothing. But the big driver of America’s five-day shopping spree that starts on Thanksgiving was the mobile phone, not the mall.
Americans spent $19.62 billion shopping online over the five days, about $2.6 billion more than they spent during the same period last year, according to Adobe Analytics, which has tracked online shopping for years. .
While the shift away from stores has been happening for years, the evolution continues to accelerate. About 81 million people shopped online on Monday, a day of big internet sales known as Cyber Monday, according to the National Retail Federation.
