Now in it’s third year of publication, IBM’s Coremetrics recently delivered reports from online retailer’s Black Friday sales numbers, and the news is, quite simply, great! When compared with last years’ figures, online spending saw a dramatic 16 percent increase in holiday shopping, with social networking sites, and mobile devices quickly becoming the forerunners in the “go-to” consumer information source.

Coremetrics sampled more than 500 top U.S. retailers including Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, L’Occitane en Provence, and PETCO and found online sales to be up 15.9 percent, and the average final checkout price rising, on average, $20, from $170.19 to $190.80.

“On Black Friday, consumers came, they clicked and they shopped their way across the Internet, and this time, they weren’t just looking for bargains,” said John Squire, chief strategy officer, IBM Coremetrics. “Consequently, we’re watching online retail, and increasingly social media and mobile, become the growth engines for retailers everywhere as consumers embrace online shopping not only for its ease and convenience, but as a primary means of researching goods and services. ”

As noted by Squire, consumers are becoming more and more critical of their purchasing decisions, and often relying on friends, either via mobile or social networking services, or both, for buying options and opinions. And more than jusy friends’ opinions, consumers are plugging into their favorite brands via these media, taking advantage of special “Facebook fans only,” promotions, as well as checking in on stock levels. Naturally, when I say social networking sites, what I really mean is Facebook, as Coremetrics reports that the majority of social shoppers arrive via Facebook. With that said, although these visitors make up only 1 percent of the total traffic online retailers received this past Black Friday, Coremetrics points out that the trend is growing.

Likewise, as the pervasion of smartphones grows, with more and more consumers having the power of online in their hands, 5.6 percent of shoppers landed on a retailer’s site using a mobile device this past Friday. That’s a 26.7 percent spike in traffic when compared to just the previous Friday.

Also noteworthy from Coremetric’s findings is the emergence of the surgical shopper. Meaning, online consumers are no longer “surfing” retailers sites, but rather making surgical strikes. They know exactly what they want, and where to get it. If one retailer can not meet their demands, they’re quickly off to find another that will.

So what does it all mean? Naturally, for those of us in the digital domain, increased online shopping can only be a good thing. IBM is predicting a 3.5 percent increase in consumer electronics related spending this holiday season. Coremetrics also noted that consumers have started spending earlier than usual this year, with November’s sales figures larger-than-usual.