Online holiday sales expected to jump 12%

Shoppers jammed stores once again on Black Friday in pursuit of holiday bargains. But online holiday sales were expected to rise at a much more rapid pace than retail sales overall.

Shop.org, an offshoot of the National Retail Federation, forecasted that online sales for November and December will grow 12 percent this year, totaling as much as $96 billion.

Scott Durchslag, president of BestBuy.com, said that this week is the retailer's busiest for online sales.

"Thanksgiving is typically our biggest traffic day of the year," Durchslag said. "But this year we're seeing it not being really about any one single day, be it Thanksgiving or even Black Friday for that matter. It's the whole week; it's a power week."

Best Buy says about 5 percent of its total sales occur online, adding that 70 percent of shoppers entering its stores visited BestBuy.com first to research products. The company also says that half the people in its stores use smartphones or tablet computers during their visits.

The National Retail Federation estimated that total retail holiday sales will rise about 4 percent.

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