NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Post-Thanksgiving online discounts were once relegated to Cyber Monday -- but these days, websites are launching deals even before Black Friday. And the resulting shopping frenzy is expected to set records.
IBM Benchmark reported total online sales for Black Friday were up nearly 24% from last year, as of 6 p.m. ET. On Thanksgiving, sales rose more than 17% compared to 2011. Black Friday was the stronger of the two days, eclipsing Thanksgiving by 4:10 p.m. ET.
And a long list of retailers -- including Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500), Amazon (AMZN, Fortune 500), Best Buy (BBY, Fortune 500) and Ann Taylor (ANN) -- unveiled "pre-Black Friday deals" even before Thanksgiving. Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) posted its one-day online shopping discounts on Black Friday, as did beauty brand MAC Cosmetics.
"We've absolutely seen this whole weekend turn into one big promotional event," said Jay Henderson, strategy director for IBM Smarter Commerce. "Black Friday deals are no longer just for the [brick-and-mortar] store, and Cyber Monday deals are no longer just for Monday."
Related: 7 apps for holiday deals
Cyber Monday's original appeal, as the first weekday after Thanksgiving, was access to quick Internet speeds while at work. But now broadband at home is ubiquitous, and consumers can also shop on a slew of mobile devices.
And so retailers' online deals stretch well ahead of Cyber Monday -- in some cases, nearly a full week before.
"Retailers are trying to draw consumers in earlier, and one way to do that is to stagger the deals: Pre-Thanksgiving, some on Thanksgiving Day, another set over the weekend, and finally the big bang to close it out on Cyber Monday," Henderson said.
Mobile devices have become increasingly important during that week before Cyber Monday. The number of consumers using their mobile device to make a purchase on Thanksgiving this year increased 66% from 2011, IBM data show.
Apple's iPad made up nearly 11% of online shopping traffic on Thanksgiving this year, according to IBM, while the iPhone brought in 9%.
Retailers are taking note. Companies like Macy's (M, Fortune 500) and Target (TGT, Fortune 500) developed special Black Friday mobile apps featuring exclusive deals and store maps.
Still, despite the expanded schedule, Cyber Monday itself remains an important part of the holiday shopping season.
Related: Holiday shopping forecast: Stronger, and predictably crazy
Andrew Lipsman, an industry analyst at data tracking firm ComScore, said he expects sales for the one-day Cyber Monday shopping event to be around $1.5 billion this year. That's up from his calculations of $1.3 billion in 2011.
It will be a few weeks before full details on Thanksgiving week's sales are made clear, but last year both Black Friday and Cyber Monday broke records. Total spending over the four-day weekend after Thanksgiving 2011 reached a record $52.4 billion, according to the National Retail Federation.
Black Friday 2012 was shaping up to be robust, with shoppers turning out even on Thanksgiving Day at stores including Toys R Us and Sears (SHLD, Fortune 500). 
First Published: November 23, 2012: 12:08 PM ET
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