Nordstrom Inc. (JWN.N) and Walmart Inc.(JWN.N) saw the biggest online-sales increases in the week leading up to Thanksgiving among U.S. retailers studied by Edison Trends.

Nordstrom’s web revenue almost doubled over the period -- Nov. 15 to Nov. 21 -- from a year earlier, while Walmart’s increased 67 per cent. Target Corp., Macy’s Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Best Buy Inc. also saw sales rise, according to Edison, an e-commerce research company that uses email receipts from purchases to calculate trends.

Sears Holdings Corp. and Jet.com registered the largest declines. Sears filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors this year, while Walmart’s Jet.com is focusing on urban shoppers.

The study gives an early indication of which companies have momentum heading into Black Friday. Powered by low unemployment and high consumer confidence, retailers are expecting holiday revenue to accelerate this year. Deloitte expects sales from November to January to rise as much as 5.6 percent to more than $1.1 trillion from the same period last year.

--With assistance from Justin Villamil