US Black Friday sales rise 2.5%: Mastercard Spendingpulse

Black Friday shoppers wait in line at a Lululemon store as retailers compete to attract shoppers and try to maintain margins on Black Friday, one of the busiest shopping days of the year, at

Mastercard Spendingpulse said on Saturday that US retail sales on Black Friday rose 2.5% year-over-year excluding automotive sales, not adjusted for inflation.

In September, Mastercard SpendingPulse, which measures in-store and online retail sales across all forms of payment, said it anticipated US retail sales, excluding automotive, to grow 3.7% during the holiday season, running from Nov 1 through Dec 24.

Black Friday refers to the day after the US Thanksgiving holiday, when retail sales are traditionally strong.

E-commerce sales on Friday increased by 8.5% year-over-year as consumers shopped for deals online, while in-store sales increased by 1.1%, MasterCard Spendingpulse said.

US shoppers spent $9.8 billion online during Black Friday this year, according to data from Adobe Analytics, which was in line with expectations of the data and insights arm of software firm Adobe.