Black Friday online sales in the U.S. touched $10.8 billion this year, making a new online shopping record. According to data from Adobe Analytics, a larger number of Americans chose to make their Black Friday purchases online rather than wait hours in long lines in stores. The online sales figure reflected a growth of over 10% compared to 2023. Additionally, online shopping on Cyber Monday is expected to hit another record $13.2 billion, a 6.1% jump compared to last year.
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More than half of the online sales growth came from smartphones. About 55% of all online sales were made from mobile phones. In fact, sales made via smartphones reached $5.9 billion, displaying a 12.1% year-over-year increase. The comfort of shopping from the small screen and adding favorite items to shopping carts in expectation of better discounts is a popular way to make purchases. E-commerce retailers such as Amazon.com (AMZN), Walmart (WMT), Target (TGT), Shein, Temu, and TikTok Shop have been some of the biggest beneficiaries of Black Friday shopping this year.
Better Days for Retailers Are Ahead
The cooling inflation and reduced interest rates have definitely lifted consumers’ spirits this shopping season. Plus, retailers are offering huge discounts, attracting more customers. Data showed that toy sales were a major driver, with a 622% year-over-year increase, followed by jewelry, appliances, apparel, and electronics. Make-up and skincare sets, Bluetooth devices, smartwatches, and perfumes were some of the other popular categories that customers purchased.
On Thanksgiving, too, U.S. online sales jumped to a record $6.1 billion, up almost 9% compared to last year. Adobe Analytics also forecasted sales of $5.2 billion and $5.6 billion for Saturday and Sunday, respectively. During Cyber Week, which spans from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday, online spending is projected to surge 7% year-over-year to $40.6 billion.
Thanksgiving and Black Friday set the mood for the Christmas shopping season. Massive discounts on items ranging from toys, apparel, and home goods to electronics bring in troves of purchases during these holidays.
Also, data from MasterCard analytics showed that online retail sales jumped 14.6%, while in-store sales rose only 0.7% compared to last year. In total, online and retail sales rose 3.4% (excluding automotive) this year, MasterCard data showed. Estimates from The National Retail Federation (NRF) show that shopping for the November-December holiday period will rise by 2.5% to 3.5% to $979.5 billion to $989 billion compared to 2023.
Which Is the Best Retail Stock?
Investors could research for the best retail stock this holiday season. We leveraged TipRanks’ Stock Comparison Tool to scan Wall Street’s ratings for some of the prominent retail stocks.
