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New York, NY, United States (AHN) – Black Friday is supposed to be all about rushing to stores, fighting the crowds and waiting in long lines to get the best deals. But this year, it was online shopping that really paid off for retailers and customers.

Online sales jumped 39.3 percent on Thanksgiving Day, and 24.3 percent on Black Friday compared to the same days last year, reports Coremetrics, which tracks real-time data from 500 retailers in the apparel, department store, health and beauty, and home goods categories.

Coremetrics reported that sales were strong in all categories. Online home goods sales jumped 48.8 percent, apparel sales soared 47.2 percent, and the health and beauty categories enjoyed a 34.2 percent increase year-over-year.

The jump in online sales was helped by Internet-only specials and exclusives. Leading shoppers online were free shipping deals.

Many brick and mortar stores, such as Best Buy, also offered their in-store doorbuster deals online for the first time this year.

Department stores saw the biggest gains in online shopping, with online sales rising 59 percent compared to last year.

While more were shopping online, they were not necessarily spending more. The average value per order remained relatively unchanged from last year at $190.10, and the number of items per order fell from 7.4 percent to 6.4 percent.

Those holding out for better deals may find them on Cyber Monday. According to the National Retail Federation’s Shop.org eHoliday survey, eight out of 10 online retailers plan to offer promotions on Cyber Monday. Data tracking firm ComScore forecasts record sales of $1.2 billion.

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