U.S. consumers spent $7.4 billion online on Black Friday and another $4.2 billion on online purchases on Thanksgiving, according to research from Adobe Analytics.
The research found that consumers made $2.9 billion in purchases from their smartphones on Friday, a record for mobile sales.
“With Christmas now rapidly approaching, consumers increasingly jumped on their phones rather than standing in line,” said Taylor Schreiner, principal analyst and head of Adobe Digital Insights. “Even when shoppers went to stores, they were now buying nearly 41% more online before going to the store to pick up.”
Average order value was $168, a 5.9% jump from last year; however Thanksgiving 2018 fell on November 22, a full six days earlier than this year. Adobe said it accounted for the late holiday by using an additional estimated week for 2018.
“We’ve got a shorter holiday selling season,” Jason Woosley, vice president of commerce product and platform at Adobe, said in an interview with CNN Business. “That’s creating a compression effect.”
Brick-and-mortar retail sales were up 4.2% year-over-year, according to data from Fiserv. But ShopperTrak said its preliminary data showed a 6.2% drop in brick-and-mortar retail sales year-over-year for Black Friday. It said brick-and-mortar sales on Thanksgiving Day were up 2.3% year-over-year, resulting in a combined 3% decline for the two-day period.
“There is no longer one way to shop on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday,” Brian Field, senior director of global retail consulting at ShopperTrak said. “Black Friday continues to remain the busiest shopping day of the year by a long shot.”
Adobe still expects Cyber Monday spending to hit an even bigger record $9.4 billion this year, an 18.9% jump from a year ago. Adobe projects $29 billion in online purchases by U.S. consumers between Thursday and Monday and $143.8 billion in online sales for the entire holiday season.
The research looked at transactions from 80 of the top 100 U.S. online retailers. Popular items included Paw Patrol toys, Nintendo Switch, AirPods, Frozen 2, and FIFA 20.
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