Amazon, Wal-Mart post stock gains
Shares of online retailer Amazon.com increased last week ahead of Black Friday, the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season, rising 1.8 percent to a Friday close of $338.64 per share.
Thanksgiving Day deals enticed bargain hunters to begin their holiday shopping late Thursday, leading to smaller-than-usual crowds on Black Friday. However, online sales were up 8.5 percent through 6 p.m. Friday compared with the same time period during Black Friday 2013, according to an IBM analysis.
The surge in online sales precedes “Cyber Monday,” one of the biggest online shopping days of the year by sales. Amazon.com promoted a number of online Black Friday deals, including $100 off Samsung NX Mini Cameras and up to $100 off Dell Inspiron Computers.
The Seattle-based Amazon has a distribution facility outside Hazleton employing more than 1,000.
Wal-Mart Stores, which also offered a number of online Black Friday specials, saw its shares climb by 3.4 percent last week to a Friday close of $87.54 per share.
The retailer employs thousands of people in Northeast Pennsylvania, including in supercenters in Dickson City, Pittston Twp., Taylor and Wilkes-Barre Twp.
— STAFF REPORT