As the traditional start to the holiday shopping season, Thanksgiving weekend has long been a crucial period for retailers. And so far, the signs are pointing to a strong season for e-commerce, with online sales up 7% globally and 4% in the U.S. compared to last year, according to real-time data from Salesforce.

As of 2 pm ET on Thanksgiving Day, online sales had reached $15.6 billion globally and $3.1 billion in the U.S. This marks a significant improvement over last year's sluggish Thanksgiving, which saw online sales of $31.7 billion globally and $7.5 billion in the U.S., with only a 1% increase over the previous year.

Salesforce's figures are based on shopping data from 1.5 billion consumers captured across its customers and other data feeds in its Commerce Cloud, Marketing Cloud, and Service Cloud. The company will be updating its figures throughout the holiday season, with additional data expected from Adobe Analytics, which also tracks online sales.

Last year, Adobe Analytics reported that people in the U.S. spent $5.6 billion online on Thanksgiving, a 5.5% increase over the previous year. This year, retailers are pulling out all the stops to drive sales, with discounts averaging 24% globally and 27% in the U.S.

Mobile shopping is playing a significant role in this year's holiday season, with Thanksgiving Day shaping up to be a key mobile shopping day in the U.S. With physical stores closed and many people spending time with friends and family, mobile devices are providing a convenient way to grab sale items. Salesforce predicts that the strongest period of buying will be in the evening, after feasting, with 35% of all sales happening between 7 pm and midnight.

In fact, Salesforce expects Thanksgiving to be the biggest mobile shopping day of the week, with 73% of all sales made today expected to be on mobile devices. The rise of mobile shopping is just one aspect of the evolving holiday shopping landscape, which has seen the traditional boundaries of Black Friday and Cyber Monday blur into a longer "Cyber Week" period.

Salesforce counted Tuesday of this week as the start of Cyber Week, and reported that sales were up 7% and 14% respectively globally and in the U.S. This shift towards a longer holiday shopping period is likely driven by the internet's ability to facilitate shopping from anywhere, at any time.

Another trend that could have a significant impact on this year's holiday season is the increasing use of generative AI by retailers. According to Salesforce, the use of digital agents and GenAI by retailers is up by 32% compared to a week ago. While it's unclear how effective these tools have been in driving sales conversions, they could potentially play a key role in shaping the future of e-commerce.

"Holiday shopping momentum is building throughout Cyber Week with online traffic and sales on the rise. After waiting all year for the best deals of the season, shoppers are finally ready to make their holiday purchases and are flocking to their favorite sites via their mobile devices," said Caila Schwartz, Director of Consumer Insights, Salesforce, in a statement.

As the holiday season continues to unfold, it will be interesting to see how these trends play out and what impact they have on retailers' bottom lines. One thing is clear, however: e-commerce is off to a strong start, and retailers are pulling out all the stops to make the most of it.