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Wal-Mart's special web promotions will be available on Black
Friday, the retailer said in a statement late on Sunday. Cyber
Monday is the biggest day of the year for internet shopping and
follows Black Friday, which is the busiest shopping day for
brick-and-mortar retailers.
Wal-Mart recently said it will boost its online inventory for
Black Friday by more than half this year, as it pulls out all
stops to grow online sales this holiday season. The retailer has
grown its online inventory to 23 million items from 8 million at
the start of the year.
Wal-Mart's step to boost online sales comes at a time when Black
Friday is losing its importance as early discounts and online
shopping keep shoppers away from stores.
The year-end shopping season, which spans November and December,
is crucial for many retailers because the two months can account
for anywhere from 20 to 40 percent of their annual sales. The
National Retail Federation expects industry holiday sales to
grow 3.6 percent this year to $655.8 billion.
Wal-Mart said orders that were ordered on the Wal-Mart mobile
app and picked up in store, increased more than 75 percent
during the first two weeks of November from the same period a
year earlier.
(Reporting by Nandita Bose in Chicago; Editing by Sandra Maler)
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