spunkmaster

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Online sales jumped on Black Friday as consumers searched for electronics such as the Wii video game console and Apple's iPhone and iPod touch, according to eBay Inc and Amazon.com Inc.

Amazon.com and eBay had both forecast a weaker holiday this year as consumers cut back on discretionary purchases.

But U.S. shoppers are scouring the Internet and stores for the best prices this season as they grapple with the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

PayPal, an online payments service owned by eBay, saw almost 34 percent more transactions this Black Friday than a year earlier, eBay said on Saturday.

PayPal saw sales rise 26 percent on Black Friday, the day after the Thanksgiving holiday that traditionally kicks off the U.S. holiday shopping season. PayPal said its sales numbers reflected 12 percent of all U.S. e-commerce.

Black Friday is best known as the day consumers crowd shopping malls, while greater online traffic is expected three days later on "Cyber Monday," when consumers use faster Internet connections at the office to make purchases.

__________________