Retail sales on Black Friday topped $1 billion for the first time, and today's Cyber Monday spending is expected to set a record as well. While customers seem to be spending more this year, they also have more ways to shop online without using their work computer and risking a reprimand from the boss.
Today, 68 percent of Americans own a smartphone or tablet — a 57 percent increase compared with last year's figures, according to a report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau. And 80 percent of owners have used their device to shop.
Houston was the top city for mobile shopping, which included people who purchased items and researched products from their smartphones or tablets. Rounding out the top 5 was Seattle-Tacoma, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York City.
READ MORE: Top 10 Cyber Monday Tech Deals
While mobile shoppers tend to be a bit younger than their desktop-shopping counterparts, the Interactive Advertising Bureau found that men shop as frequently as women from their mobile devices.
The giant retailer Amazon snagged the top spot for mobile shopping — both app use and website visits —in research firm NPD's Black Friday survey, released today (Nov. 26). The second-most popular app belonged to eBay, followed by Walmart. But no single retailer captured more than 13 percent of shoppers. The other big retailers, including Target, Best Buy and Gamestop, were used by no more than 3 percent of shoppers. Mobile shopping peaked at 8 p.m. on Friday.
So who's shopping today? According to a recent Harris Interactive poll, plenty of workers are engaging in a bit of secret shopping , because no one bats an eye when co-workers check their phones.