Black Friday sales in US rise 2.5pc

NEW YORK, Nov 26 (Reuters): Mastercard Spendingpulse said on Saturday that US retail sales on Black Friday rose 2.5 per cent year-over-year excluding automotive sales, not adjusted for inflation.

Black Friday refers to the day after the US Thanksgiving holiday.

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.