Black Friday Online Shopping Visits Rise Compared To Last YearBlack Friday Online Shopping Visits Rise Compared To Last Year

Web sites with Black Friday shopping ads drew 52% more traffic last week compared to the same time last year, while overall visits to retail sites increased by 7% in one week, according to the latest figures from Hitwise.

The online intelligence company reported Thursday that searches for the term "Black Friday" rose 91% compared to last year. In 2006, searches for the same term rose 452% from 2005.

Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is the biggest shopping day of the year in the United States. Its name derives from the fact that most retailers turn the corner to profitability on that day.

"Consumers are becoming increasingly more knowledgeable about the availability of Black Friday promotions online and are actively seeking out the Web sites which offer the advertisements before public release," Heather Dougherty, director of research at Hitwise, said in a statement. "Much to the chagrin of some retailers, shoppers are well-aware of the leaked promotions and are able to plan their Black Friday purchases before Thanksgiving arrives. While some retailers resist having their sales announced prematurely, others are embracing these sites as a customer acquisition opportunity."

Wal-Mart attracted the most traffic from Black Friday advertising Web sites for the week ending Nov. 10, 2007 among Hitwise's selection of brick and mortars. Sears and Best Buy ranked second and third for most U.S. traffic. Last year, Best Buy, Circuit City, and Sears topped the list of Black Friday Web sites.

The Hitwise U.S. Retail 100 Index drew 7% more traffic during the week ending Nov. 10, 2007 compared to the previous week.

U.S. retail traffic is up 13% compared to the same week last year. Amazon.com held the top spot for Web site visits within the Index last week, receiving 11% of visits, while Wal-Mart drew 6%, ranking second in the retail category. Overstock.com experienced the largest percentage gain in traffic with visits up 18% compared to the previous week.

The search terms "iPods" and "Uggs" sent more traffic to shopping and classifieds Web sites for the week ending Nov. 10, 2007. iPod was the most popular product search term overall, while Wii beat out Uggs for second place.