• by Ray Schultz , December 24, 2018

Ecommerce sales are off to a strong start, growing by 18.3% year-over-year between the days just before Thanksgiving and December 19, Mastercard SpendingPulse reports.

Online Black Friday sales rose by 28.4% over those of the prior year, and Cyber Monday sales rose by 29%.

Apparel sales rose by 16.5% year-over-year, and the department store, electronics and jewelry sectors all grew between 7% and 10%.

Ecommerce sales have made up 13% of all retail sales to date this year -- a new high. 

The report does not break out channel usage, but email promotions presumably helped drive many of those online sales boosts.

“Online shopping is experiencing a surge boosted by strong growth in Apparel, Department Store, and Jewelry e-commerce sales,” states Steve Sadove, senior advisor for Mastercard and former CEO and chairman of Saks Incorporated.

He adds that “a mix of early deals and cold weather helped drive shoppers online. In addition, we’re seeing more consumers finding out about brands and listening to shopping advice from social networks, communities and friends -- making it even easier to buy from any connected device.”

In another holiday development, Amazon and Walmart are offering eGift cards that can be given as last-minute gifts. The cards can be sent by email, text or messaging apps, 24/7 Wall St reports.  

Mastercard SpendingPulse also found that:

• Department store sales rose by 28.5% on Black Friday and Apparel by 25.1%.
• Specialty apparel grew by 20% on Cyber Monday and in-store sales produced a 4% increase overall for the department store sector.