Online Black Friday Sales Hit $1B

Forget lining up in the cold—online shoppers had the right idea this Black Friday. Online sales jumped 22 percent this year, and consumer spending went above $1 billion, according to ComScore Inc. Meanwhile, in-the-flesh shoppers spent $11.2 billion, which is almost 2 percent less than last year. Mobile access might not be working in the retailers’ favor though. “It’s driving prices down,” says Mia Shernoff of JPMorgan Chase. “Consumers are checking prices in stores and showing the retailer, and the retailer will succumb to the lowest price online so they don’t lose the consumer.”