by - Adobe reports a record $7.9 billion in online spending on Black Friday so far, up 8.2% from 2023.
- Adobe expects final online Black Friday figures to be between $10.7 billion and $11 billion.
- Inflation and high credit card debt are making consumers cautious, but spending remains resilient.
Americans continued to spend money on Black Friday after strong Thanksgiving sales, despite concerns about inflation.
Adobe’s first Black Friday e-commerce data shows that consumers spent $7.9 billion online this Black Friday through 6:30 p.m. This total is 8.2% higher than last year’s value.
With spending expected to increase between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m., Adobe expects final online Black Friday figures to be between a record $10.7 billion and $11 billion, in line with Black Friday estimates of $10.8 billion -preview.
Shoppers were eager to buy skin and hair care products, air fryers, PlayStation 5 consoles and Wicked-related toys. According to the data, Black Friday sales remain on trend this holiday season, with higher sales of electronics, cosmetics and appliances compared to average sales in October 2024.
“Adobe reaffirms its prediction that Black Friday will set a new e-commerce record and cross the $10 billion mark,” Vivek Pandya, chief analyst at Adobe Digital Insights, said in a statement. “This is driven by deep discounts ahead of Cyber Monday, but also by the continued acceleration of mobile commerce contributing to more impulse purchases.”
However, many Americans are still cautious about their spending as inflation remains above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. As of October 2024, the annual inflation rate was 2.6%.
Retail industry researchers told The Washington Post that while consumer spending has remained resilient, record high credit card debt and sticker shock in recent years have made consumers — especially those with lower and middle incomes — more mindful of their spending and alert are on their expenses. price comparisons. Consumers continue to flock to discount stores, while going less often to big-box stores like Target.
Shoppers are increasingly relying on buy-now-pay-later purchases. This Black Friday, consumers are expected to spend $711.3 million through BNPL online – up 12.8% year over year – and $430 million on Thanksgiving.
Adobe data shows that Thanksgiving spending reached an all-time high this year. This Thanksgiving, consumers spent $6.1 billion online, up 8.8% from last year’s $5.6 billion. Nearly 60% of online sales came from a mobile device, peaking between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.
Pandya said in a statement that this Thanksgiving offered bigger discounts than expected, fueling impulse buying. On toys, the discounts were a maximum of 27.2% on the stated price, while the clothing price was 22.6%.
Consumers were willing to spend hundreds of dollars on electronics as Adobe data shows unit sales of the most expensive electronics products increased 72% compared to pre-season trends. Sporting goods rose 44%, while appliances rose 36% compared to pre-season trends.
Adobe expects to spend $5.2 billion on Saturday, $5.6 billion on Sunday and $13.2 billion on Cyber Monday, up 6.1% from last year.
Adobe expects the biggest discounts on computers, peaking at 23% off the listed price. Adobe expects $40.6 billion in online spending and $240.8 billion in total holiday spending this Cyber Week.