Shoppers set records over the Thanksgiving weekend, giving retailers a strong start to the holiday shopping season. Shoppers spent a new record of $5 billion on Black Friday, 16.9% more than that day in 2016. Thanksgiving Day also saw a surge in online spending, with purchases leaping 18.3%, to $2.87 billion, as compared to last year. Amazon reports that purchases made via its mobile app were 50% higher on Thanksgiving than the number placed on mobile devices on the same day last year. Cyber Monday is forecast to become the largest online shopping day in history, generating $6.6 billion in sales, 16.5% more than in 2016.
