US retailers are hoping to avoid uninvited guests this Thanksgiving. Following a year of high-profile cyber security breaches, companies are facing fresh pressures to protect customer data online and at the checkout as they prepare for Black Friday, the biggest shopping event on the US calendar.

Sales are set to break records this year, with increasing numbers of consumers turning to their mobiles to research and purchase items in the run-up to the holiday season.

The National Retail Federation, the largest US industry retail group, estimates that November and December sales will increase 4.1 per cent to $617bn – the highest level in three years. Online sales are expected to hit $61bn, up 16 per cent from 2013, with mobile sales anticipated to make up 13 per cent of all sales.