Holiday sales in November and December could top $200 billion, according to a forecast from Adobe.
Americans eager to nab holiday discounts lined up at stores on Black Friday, putting what in recent years has been the busiest shopping day of the year on track for record sales. Black Friday sales in stores and online were up 12% by mid-morning, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse, which tracks spending broadly across cards and cash. By noon Eastern time, shoppers had spent a total of $5.8 billion — up 7% compared to the same period last year, data from the software company Salesforce shows. «Retail spending has been on the rise throughout the day,» Steve Sadove, senior advisor for Mastercard and former CEO or department store chain Saks, said in a report. «As of 3 p.m. today, Mastercard SpendingPulse reports that total retail sales are up nearly 30% compared to last year, with apparel and department store sales leading the way.
