Get real-time updates on Thanksgiving weekend online sales

CHICAGO, Nov. 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- It used to be about family, food and football, but increasingly Thanksgiving weekend is about shopping online. And the editors of Internet Retailer magazine, which has been covering e-commerce since 1999, will be closely monitoring and analyzing online sales throughout the holiday weekend and through Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving.

During that five-day period last year, U.S. online retailers sold $11 billion worth of merchandise, a 15% increase from the same period in 2014, according to the Adobe Digital Index. And with online retail sales again growing at a 15% year-over-year pace in 2016, there's little doubt that millions of consumers will push aside their plates of turkey to shop the bargains that such major retailers as Amazon, Wal-Mart and Macy's will offer on Thanksgiving Day and throughout the weekend.

Throughout the long weekend Internet Retailer's editors will track online sales, web and mobile traffic, the level of online discounts, the pace and content of marketing emails, retail website crashes and slowdowns, and more. They will report on and analyze those developments as they happen on InternetRetailer.com and share that information via the Internet Retailer Twitter account (@IR_Magazine) and their  personal Twitter accounts (see below). The reports will be based on up-to-the-minute data from more than a dozen companies that track e-commerce and on interviews with web merchants.

"This is a crucial period for online retailers and we will keep them informed in as close to real time as we can on the pace of online shopping and any signs that consumers are using the web and their mobile devices to shop differently this year than they have in the past," says Don Davis, Internet Retailer's editor in chief. "I and the rest of our editorial team will be available to speak with the news media at any time during the holiday weekend to provide insights on online shopping trends."

Reporters seeking the latest e-commerce news and analysis can email or call Davis or Tracy Maple, who are coordinating Internet Retailer's holiday coverage. Here is their contact information:

Don Davis, [email protected], (o) 312-362-0014, (m) 773-934-9979

Tracy Maple, [email protected], (o) 312-362-0086, (m) 312-291-1279

E-commerce executives and journalists can also keep up with Internet Retailer's holiday reporting by following @IR_Magazine and the individual accounts of the following Internet Retailer editors:

Don Davis, @DonDavisIR

Tracy Maple, @tracycopygrrrl

Matt Lindner, @mattlindnerIR

James Melton, @JM_InternetRet

Allison Enright, @AEnrightIR

Zak Stambor, @ZakStamborIR

Stefany Moore Zaroban, @StefanyMooreIR

ABOUT INTERNET RETAILER®
The flagship brand of Chicago-based e-commerce publisher Vertical Web Media, Internet Retailer® provides comprehensive e-commerce business intelligence through print and digital channels, including a monthly magazine, several research guides, web sites, online databases, webinars and e-mail newsletters. Internet Retailer, launched in March 1999, is the largest e-retailing monthly magazine with 44,500 subscribers. InternetRetailer.com is the most-visited informational web site in e-commerce, attracting more than 205,000 unique monthly visitors.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161116/440479

SOURCE Internet Retailer