Wal-Mart and Target Report Strong Sales

Retailers Wal-Mart and Target reported strong Thanksgiving Day traffic in stores and online as shoppers homed in on big-ticket electronic items.

Both companies were among a host of retailers that began offering doorbuster "Black Friday" sales on Thanksgiving Day at 6 p.m. in an effort to boost struggling sales in a tight economy and keep up with online retailers.

Wal-Mart launched two hours earlier than last year and said it recorded more than 22 million register transactions through the night. Thursday was the second highest online days sales day ever, topped only by Cyber Monday last year.

The company said tablets, televisions, sheets, children's apparel and video gaming were among the top sellers. Other top sellers were dolls of Elsa from the Disney movie "Frozen," food containers and towels. Online, video games, wireless prepaid phones, HDTVs and baby items were especially popular.

Meanwhile, mobile sales accounted for the most growth in Black Friday traffic and sales at Target, the company said. Online, the number of orders and sales increased more than 40% from the year before, making it Target's biggest online sales day ever. Top-selling items included the iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini, Nikon L330 camera, Beats by Dre Solo HD headphones, the Dyson DC50 Allergy vacuum and the Sony Playstation 4 Bundle.

In the stores, the top-selling items were the Element 40" TV, XVox One, iPads and Nikon L330 camera. In the first hour of stores opening, Target sold 1,800 televisions per minute and 2,000 video games per minute. Other popular items were the Keurig K40 Brewer, Dyson DC50 Allergy vacuum and KitchenAid Classic Plus Stand Mixer.

This year, Target had also tried offering certain presale Black Friday deals in stores and online Wednesday. Both online and in-store, top sellers included iPad Air 2 and the Beats by Dre Solo HD headphones. By 9 a.m., online sales had exceeded total sales from the same day last year, the company said.

About 140 million people are expected to shop over this holiday weekend, a number flat from last year, according to the National Retail Federation. Shoppers spent about $57.4 billion during the Black Friday weekend last year, the first decline on Black Friday weekend since 2009, according to the federation.

As the holiday shopping weekend continues, Wal-Mart is extending its deals over a five-day period. The company said it would have some of its deepest discounts online to better cater to shoppers who have grown accustomed to quick home delivery and the ability to check real-time prices on their mobile phones. Beginning Saturday, Wal-Mart will release 200 new "Cyber Week" deals each day until Dec. 5.

Write to Angela Chen at [e-mail]

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