Black Friday sales dropped from $11.6 billion in 2014 to $10.4 billion this year, while online sales increased by 14 percent, totaling $4.5 billion from Black Friday and Thanksgiving Day combined. Amazon hired about 100,000 seasonal employees to accommodate the increase in sales and handle 500 orders per second. Additionally, FedEx hired 55,000 seasonal employees. With increased sales and more orders being processed and shipped, delays are not uncommon. Orders made on Cyber Monday took an average of seven days to arrive, which is 20 percent longer than the previous year, according to retail consultancy Kurt Salmon.

1. Chicago
Chart of the week: December 21, 2015
Source: JLL Research, National Retail Federation, Bloomberg, Adobe Systems, Time, Crain’s
E-commerce sleighs holiday shopping
competition
• Black Friday sales dropped from $11.6 billion in 2014 to $10.4 billion this year, while online sales
increased by 14 percent, totaling $4.5 billion from Black Friday and Thanksgiving Day combined. Amazon
hired about 100,000 seasonal employees to accommodate the increase in sales and handle 500 orders
per second. Additionally, FedEx hired 55,000 seasonal employees.
• With increased sales and more orders being processed and shipped, delays are not uncommon. Orders
made on Cyber Monday took an average of seven days to arrive, which is 20 percent longer than the
previous year, according to retail consultancy Kurt Salmon.
$229.56
Average spending per person
on gifts
151+ million
Shoppers over Thanksgiving
weekend
$3 billion
Cyber Monday sales
$10.4 billion
Black Friday sales
100,000
Amazon seasonal employees
56.7 percent
Of smartphone users used
phone for shopping
$229.56