U.S. shoppers had a record Black Friday, with online spending already reaching $8.6 billion by evening, according to Adobe Analytics data, with some predicting the final tally could be higher than initially predicted.
By 6:30pm ET on Black Friday, online spending was up 9.4% year-over-year, slightly above Adobe’s prior forecast of 8.3% growth for the day.
Adobe now expects consumers to spend between $11.7 billion and $11.9 billion by the end of Black Friday, up from its previous forecast of $11.7 billion. This would set a new daily record for online shopping. Adobe also found that more buyers are using AI tools and “buy now, pay later” options to make purchases.
This data comes from an analysis of commerce across more than 1 trillion visits to U.S. retail sites, covering 100 million products across 18 categories.
“Adobe surveyed more than 1,000 U.S. consumers and found that nearly half believe this season’s best deals will come on Black Friday, prompting many to make purchases before Cyber Monday,” Vivek Pandya, principal analyst at Adobe Digital Insights, said in a statement. “Given the strong spending to date, we expect the final Black Friday online shopping tally to be higher than originally expected.”
The strong performance on Black Friday, the five-day period from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday, sets the stage for what Adobe expects to be a strong Cyber Week. The company predicts that this period will account for 17.2% of all holiday spending, with total spending increasing 6.3% year-over-year to $43.7 billion.
Black Friday popular items
Some of the best-selling products so far include televisions, the newly launched Nintendo Switch 2, Apple AirPods 4, and Oura Ring 4. Kitchen gadgets like KitchenAid stand mixers and storage containers are also flying off virtual shelves, along with washers and dryers, bicycles, basketball hoops, and more.
According to Adobe research, 50% of respondents plan to buy apparel and accessories online on Black Friday, followed by toys at 40% and computers and electronics at 36%.
The surge in spending was fueled by deeper discounts than analysts had originally expected. Electronics saw the biggest price cuts, with up to 29% off list price, followed by toys at 28%, apparel at 25%, and televisions at 24%. Computers, electronics, furniture, and sporting goods all received huge discounts ranging from 19% to 23% off.
Buyers focus on AI and mobile shopping
Shoppers are increasingly relying on artificial intelligence to navigate deals and find the right products. AI-driven traffic to retail sites, measured by shoppers clicking links from AI assistants, is expected to jump 600% compared to last year.
In an Adobe survey, nearly half of respondents said they have used or plan to use AI primarily to find deals, conduct product research, and get recommendations when shopping online this season.
Reliance on AI shopping tools is increasing as companies race to integrate technology into the holiday shopping experience. Earlier this week, OpenAI introduced shopping survey functionality to ChatGPT. This feature builds a personalized buyer guide by asking clarifying questions and uncovering information from across the web.
Mobile shopping continues to dominate, accounting for 58.6% of online sales so far, with spending reaching $5.1 billion, up 11.3% year over year. This represents a higher mobile share than last year’s Black Friday, when phones and tablets accounted for 55% of purchases.
Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services also saw increased activity, with this payment option expected to increase Black Friday spending by $761.8 million, an 11% year-over-year increase.
The majority of these installment purchases were made on mobile devices, accounting for 82.4% of BNPL transactions this holiday season. Consumers are most likely to use payment options for electronics, apparel, toys, and furniture.
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