Retail stocks climb after strong start to holiday sales

Shares of retailers Gap Inc and Amazon.com Inc rose on Monday following a promising start to holiday season sales on Black Friday, and ahead of what could be the largest U.S. online shopping day in history.

Adobe Analytics said Cyber Monday is expected to drive $6.6 billion in internet sales this year, making it the biggest U.S. online shopping day on record. The research firm had previously reported Cyber Monday sales of $3.45 billion last year but restated that figure to $5.6 billion following a change in its methodology of calculating sales.

Data for Cyber Monday sales are expected at around noon eastern time.

Record online sales were seen on Black Friday and Thanksgiving, when shoppers bagged deep discounts and bought more on their mobile devices, brightening the overall outlook for those traditional retailers that have expanded beyond brick-and-mortar outlets.

Cyber Monday has become increasingly popular among shoppers who wait for the best deals. More than half (56 percent) of consumers surveyed by RetailMeNot said they would shop on Cyber Monday in 2017, up from 39 percent last year.

Non-store sales, which include online sales and those from kiosks, are expected to rise to about $140 billion for the last two months of the year, according to the National Retail Federation. Total holiday season sales are expected between $678.75 billion and $682 billion.

Wal-Mart`s shares rose 1 percent. Amazon`s shares touched a record at $1,213, while Gap Inc, Victoria`s Secret owner L Brands and Urban Outfitters` stocks were trading up between 1 percent and 3 percent.

The Dow Jones US Retailers index was up 0.9 pct on Cyber Monday, higher than the 0.4 percent gain on Black Friday and its biggest percentage move since Nov 16.

(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)