What the Black Friday statistics really reveal
Sometimes being an independent thinker can go a long way, especially when you are someone like Jim Cramer who is caught in a retail pickle.
He does not know whether he should trust the National Retail Federation survey of , or the .
"When in doubt, I say go with the numbers themselves," said the "Mad Money" host.
The National Retail Federation announced on Monday morning that they saw a sharp decline in Black Friday and sluggish spending from shoppers online as well during the four-day holiday period.
The statistics told a different story and showed Black Friday was actually a great weekend. Channel Advisors Topeka said online sales are actually up 23 percent year over year from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday.
Amazon is even up an average of 32 percent, without including Cyber Monday figures.
That doesn't sound as terrible as initially thought by the so-called experts, right?
For those who are still skeptical of the figures, Comscore—a leading internet technology company that provides digital analytics—stated that e-commerce spending rose 32 percent on Thanksgiving Day, to $1.01 billion and had a 26 percent gain to $1.5 billion on Black Friday.
Cramer understands that most thought the bricks-and-mortar companies would do much better, especially considering the decline in oil prices. However, when you go back and read the commentary from companies like Macy's and Wal-Mart, they were not nearly as optimistic, though their stocks were on fire anyways. Perhaps the reality of statistics is beginning to set in for these companies?
----------------------------------------------------------
Read more from Mad Money with Jim Cramer
Cramer says bye-bye to bonds for retirement
Never, ever do this with your 401(k)
Cramer: Don't invest without 3 things
----------------------------------------------------------
"The most important takeaway, though, is not that online flopped too. It's that Black Friday in the mall is no longer as important, and online sales are more important than ever," Cramer added.
The "Mad Money" host is willing to bet that there is actually a really nice increase in consumer spending when the analysts take a look back further down the road. To Cramer, that means we should be trusting the statistics and online pros like Channel Advisor and Comscore, not an outdated analysis from the Retail Federation.
Questions for Cramer?
Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBC
Want to take a deep dive into Cramer's world? Hit him up!
Mad Money Twitter - Jim Cramer Twitter - Facebook - Instagram - Vine
Questions, comments, suggestions for the "Mad Money" website? madcap@cnbc.com