Earlier in September, Mastercard SpendingPulse had predicted a 3.7% surge in retail sales, excluding automotive, for the holiday season from November 1st to December 24th. E-commerce sales were expected to increase +6.7% year-over-year, and in-store sales to increase +2.9% year-over-year.
Black Friday refers to the day after the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, when retail sales are traditionally strong.
Top retailers: Amazon (AMZN), Target (TGT), Walmart (WMT), Best Buy (BBY), Apple (AAPL), Costco (COST), Home Depot (HD), Lowe’s Companies (LOW), eBay (EBAY), Wayfair (W), and Etsy (ETSY).