The driest Thanksgiving weekend in five years may have helped holiday shopping, despite an overall decline in foot traffic. Some shoppers just took notes in the hopes of finding an even better deal online. That's a consequence of Amazon continuing to squeeze prices, exacerbating the "showrooming" practice of people getting ideas at brick-and-mortar stores, then buying online.
Daniel Ives, head of technology research for GBH Insights, said Amazon was posting stronger-than-expected sales, and at this pace, it could beat fourth-quarter sales estimates by 5 percent.
Jon Abt, co-president of Glenview, Illinois-based Abt Electronics, said sales from Friday through Sunday were up about 14 percent from a year ago.
