$65.15 billion — that's roughly the amount of money retailers have spent so far this holiday season, a double digit increase over last year. And on Black Friday alone, shoppers collectively shelled out $5.03 billion online, just shy of the $6.6 billion Cyber Monday rang up.

While consumers have been able to get deals for well over a month (thanks to promotions like Amazon's 50 days of Black Friday), Black Friday and Cyber Monday marked a significant peak in holiday shopping — and trends from that period tell us a lot about what to expect for the rest of the season.

On the podcast this week, Conversational Commerce host Corinne Ruff called up Retail Dive Senior Editor Laura Heller to talk through the most surprising takeaways. Overall, they say it's been a measured build up, with promotions hovering around the same level they've maintained throughout November. That shows in the data too; According to Adobe, retailers have helped ring up over $1 billion in online sales every day of the holiday season, starting on Nov. 1.

Black Friday may not be the single red letter day it used to be, but it's bringing up the baseline for the whole month — and that's certainly something retailers can be thankful for.

You'll hear about all of this and more in their conversation. So, sit back, relax and listen. You can stream the episode below or subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher.