Good Day for eBay

Black Friday was a good day for eBay. eBay was the online winner this "Black Friday," data published on Saturday showed, but overall Internet traffic growth was well below last year's even as bargain hunters tracked down sought-after toys and electronics on the Web before "Cyber Monday."

Overall traffic to the Nielsen/Net Ratings Holiday eShopping Index, which tracks more than 120 online retailers, rose 12 percent on the Friday after Thankgiving over the same day last year, according to the online audience measurement firm. EBay Inc. had the most Web traffic on "Black Friday," one of retail's busiest days, with 7.5 million unique visitors, according to the data. Amazon.com was in second place, with 3.4 million unique visitors, followed by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. with 3.2 million. There is no way to determine what percentage of Internet users are actually making Web purchases. The search for Mattel's T.M.X. Elmo, this season's most popular and hard-to-find toy, drove much of that online traffic in advance of "Cyber Monday," the unofficial start of the online holiday shopping season.