Mastercard Spendingpulse said on Saturday that US retail sales on Black Friday rose by 2.5 per cent 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, had said that it anticipated US retail sales, excluding automotive, to grow by 3.7 per cent during the holiday season, running from November 1 through December 24. 

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

However, e-commerce sales on Friday increased by 8.5 per cent year over year as consumers shopped for deals online, while in-store sales increased by 1.1 per cent, Mastercard Spendingpulse said. 

US shoppers spent a record $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.

“I do think the paradigm has changed around the in-store Black Friday experience, the long lines and things like that. Consumers are more in the driver’s seat when they are shopping online because it is easier to make side-by-side price comparisons and secure a better price, notes Vivek Pandya, a lead analyst of Adobe Digital Insights.