Ecommerce Sales Top $1 Billion on Black Friday

Online measurement firm comScore today reported U.S. retail e-commerce spending surpassed $1 billion on Black Friday, up 26% vs. Black Friday 2011.

But Black Friday was not the only big day for ecommerce. comScore reported a 32% rise in Thanksgiving Day shopping to $663 million.

For the first 23 days of the holiday season (beginning Nov. 1), $13.7 billion has been spent online, marking a 16% increase versus the corresponding days last year.

“Despite the frenzy of media coverage surrounding the importance of Black Friday in the brick-and-mortar world, we continue to see this shopping day become more and more prominent in the e-commerce channel, particularly among those who prefer to avoid crowds at the stores,” said comScore chairman, Gian Fulgoni in a press release.

57.3 million Americans visited online retail sites on Black Friday, representing an increase of 18% vs. a year ago. Amazon ranked as the most visited online retail site on Black Friday while also posting the highest year-over-year visitor growth rate among the top five retailers. Walmart, Best Buy, Target and Apple rounded out the top 5.