This is likely to end as the biggest Black Friday in online history.
Total online sales for the day after Thanksgiving are expected to exceed $9 billion, according to Adobe, which tracks sales on retailers’ websites. That would be a record.
As of 6 pm ET, shoppers have spent $7.28 billion on websites. That number could rise to as much as $9.2 billion before the day is out, Adobe said.
Record spending comes in the heels of a hefty day of Thanksgiving shopping in which consumers shelled out an all-time high of $5.29 billion online, up 2.9% year-over-year. Shoppers typically spend about $2 billion to $3 billion online in a day, according to Adobe.
The company said buyers were picking up Apple products like watches and AirPods, smart speakers and TVs, espresso machines and game consoles, as well as toys from funkoHatchimals and Squishmallows.
Adobe noted that mobile shopping also hit a record this year, with smartphone sales accounting for 55% of online sales on Thanksgiving. These sales are expected to account for 53% of total Black Friday sales, the company predicts.
Plus, steep discounts enticed inflation-weary consumers to put more items in their carts. Average order volume increased 12% during the season. Toys, in particular, fueled significant demand, with offers up to 33% off.
For retailers, these numbers can be a promising indicator over the next few weeks. Early holiday forecasts have been silenced. Goal, macy’s, nordstrom and other companies reported a pause in sales in late October and early November. Consumer confidence has weakened in the past month while inflation is hovering at its highest in four decades.
What’s wrong with it increased pressure for retailers on Black Friday weekend — a time often associated with the best deals of the holiday shopping season.
Adobe expects Cyber Week, the five days from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday, will generate about $34.8 billion in online spend, an increase of nearly 3% compared to 2021. Monday is expected to Cibernético will be the biggest online shopping day, with sales slated to exceed $11.2 billion, the company forecast.