Record Online Spending on Black Friday

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VoM News Desk | November 26, 2023 | 02:14 PM IST | Breaking News | Follow on Google News

Record Online Spending on Black Friday

Record Online Spending on Black Friday

Black Friday this year witnessed a remarkable surge in online spending, reaching a historic high of $9.8 billion in the United States, according to Adobe Analytics. This significant increase, up 7.5% from last year, brings a wave of optimism to retailers who have been grappling with dreary sales forecasts for the holiday season. The demand was predominantly driven by electronics, smartwatches, TVs, and audio equipment. Interestingly, consumers showed a greater inclination towards using buy-now, pay-later options, which saw a 72% rise from the week preceding Thanksgiving. This trend marks a noticeable recovery from the previous holiday season, which was adversely affected by high inflation, leading consumers to tighten their belts and retailers to offer substantial discounts to clear their excessive stock.

Mixed Signals in Online Retail Trends

Despite the record-breaking online sales on Black Friday, the broader outlook for the holiday season remains mixed. Separate data from Salesforce Inc. revealed a 9% year-on-year growth in US online sales, with footwear, sporting goods, health, and beauty products being the major drivers. Clothing, home, and beauty products featured the largest discounts. These early sales figures are crucial for companies to gauge their holiday-season performance, especially in anticipation of the slower data from physical stores. However, initial forecasts for November and December are not as promising, with Salesforce predicting a meager 1% growth in online sales during this period compared to 2022, indicating the slowest pace in at least five years. Adobe’s projections are slightly more optimistic, expecting revenue growth of 4.8%, yet this is still far below the pre-pandemic average annual growth rate of 13%.

International Trends and Shopify’s Insights

The trend of increased online spending was not confined to the US alone. Shopify Inc., a Canada-based e-commerce marketplace, reported that global Black Friday sales escalated by 22%, led primarily by clothing, personal care, and jewelry. This global increase underscores the widespread appeal of Black Friday deals and the growing trend of online shopping across different regions and product categories.

VoM News Desk

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