Black Friday Online Sales Hit $11.8 Billion, Driven by Mobile & AI, Adobe Reports
NEW YORK – American consumers shattered online spending records this Black Friday, totaling $11.8 billion in purchases – a 9.1% increase over the previous year, according to data released by Adobe Analytics. The surge in digital spending underscores the continuing shift towards e-commerce during the holiday season adn highlights the growing influence of mobile shopping and artificial intelligence.
Peak online traffic occured between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time, with shoppers spending an amazing $12.5 million per minute during that period. Significant sales increases were observed across several key categories, including video game consoles (up 1,900%), televisions (1,740%), headphones and speakers (1,700%), and refrigerators (1,630%).
discounts were widespread, with toys seeing reductions of up to 30% from original prices, followed by electronics (29%), televisions (24%), and clothing (25%). Top-selling toys included LEGO products, Nerf guns, board games, and Pokémon cards, while the Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X, and PlayStation 5 lead console sales.
Mobile devices dominated the shopping experience, accounting for 55.2% of all online sales - a total of $6.5 billion.Adobe noted that this trend supports impulse purchases and fuels overall e-commerce growth. ”Mobile is now the dominant form of shopping during the Christmas season,” the firm stated.
Social commerce also experienced considerable growth, contributing 3.4% of online purchases, a year-over-year increase of 54.5%.
Perhaps surprisingly, Artificial Intelligence (AI) played a significant role, driving an 805% increase in traffic to retail websites compared to last year. Consumers leveraged AI tools to research products and find deals, particularly in categories like video games, appliances, electronics, toys, and baby/personal care items. Shoppers arriving at websites via AI were 38% more likely to make a purchase than those arriving through other channels.
Looking ahead, Adobe estimates $6.4 billion was spent online during Thanksgiving, and projects $5.5 billion in spending today (Saturday) and $5.9 billion on Sunday. Cyber Monday is forecast to be the largest online shopping day of the year, with an anticipated $14.2 billion in sales.
Adobe predicts that Cyber Week – encompassing Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday – will account for approximately 17.2% of total holiday season spending, reaching $43.7 billion, a 6.3% increase year-over-year.
Source: Adobe Analytics, DMC.
