Reuters
Mastercard Spendingpulse said on Saturday that US retail sales on Black Friday rose 2.5% 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, said it anticipated US retail sales, excluding automotive, to grow 3.7% during the holiday season, running from Nov 1 through Dec 24.

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

E-commerce sales on Friday increased by 8.5% year-over-year as consumers shopped for deals online, while in-store sales increased by 1.1%, MasterCard Spendingpulse said.

US shoppers spent $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.