• Mashable, Monday, November 30, 2009 1:27 PM

With economic markets on the mend, Mashable asks whether consumers shopping again. The answer? Data just released by marketing optimization firm Coremetrics reveals that Black Friday, the traditional start to the holiday shopping season, turned out to be a good day -- and a welcome relief -- for online retailers.

Consumers spent more, ordered more, and did it all more efficiently than compared to Black Friday last year. According to the Coremetrics data, the average online order on Black Friday jumped to $170.19, an increase of 35%. Last year, consumers only spent $126.04 per order on the websites Coremetrics tracks. In addition, there was an 18% increase in the average number of items purchased per order. Last year, it was 4.56 items per order, but this year it rose to 5.40 items. Meanwhile, the average bounce rate rose by nearly 40% and browsing sessions decreased by 5%, suggesting that consumers were focused less on "window shopping" and more focused on specific items and deals.

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