These statistics from Compete are presumably like all other stats and can tell several different stories at once. If you are into selling gadgets, then it was a nifty 19th to 23rd of November, as long as your name isn't Dell, and if you sell building products, you hope Wal-Mart are going to go mad and build more stores from their on-line profits.

It is incredible to think that after gorging on turkey and nostalgia, US citizens can then spend hours on-line stocking up for the next set of festivities. Not that the following stores are complaining about the internet buying trends in motion. (Apart from Dell!)

Amazon's great crash bonanza

Amazon eclipsed all known marketing efforts from Microsoft with their $100 limited time limited number X-Box offer. If having your site grind to a halt for 40 minutes is a sign of success, Amazon are the champions.

The boys at Dell

The on-line PC and gadget guys were the only shopping frenzy losers, looking at the minus signs. Probably ruing the day they didn't get into lingerie, judging by the uplifting on-line experience of Victorias Secret. In the UK however, Dell's website is at least number 2 for on-line ease of use - some comfort in a ten dollar market.

Home Depot were a bit shaky on the ground

They saw just a 20% rise in sales on-line. Seems hard to believe, though, that a company with no computerized stock lists in their bricks and mortar stores could possibly get it together to service the whole nation from one computer screen. That may be harsh, and doing an injustice to their business model based on a bricks and dodgy mortar chain of stores. I expect their loyal fans prefer waiting impatiently in-line for directions to the sheetrock and white paint sections.

And when they have made a purchase, rather than have a computer generated "Thanks for shopping with Home Depot and not Lowes" their real world customers prefer a strip search by a mentally sub-normal security guard. (Although some are nice and make a good show of control by checking every single item on a till receipt while chatting on the phone to George from lumber.)

Who did you buy from in the post Thanksgiving period? Get any bargains, or just a sinking feeling brought on by credit card sickness?