Black Friday, Thanksgiving Online Sales Hit New Record
Black Friday and Thanksgiving online sales in the United States surged to record highs according to retail analytics firms.
Black Friday saw $5.03 billion in online sales versus Thanksgiving Day's $2.87 billion internet haul, according to final numbers rreleased by Adobe Analytics. This year's Black Friday sales total is a 16.9 percent increase over 2016's $4.3 billion in online sales, says Adobe. Thanksgiving Day, on the other hand, saw a beefier, 18.3 percent increase, from 2016's $1.3 billion.
Adobe predicts this Cyber Monday will be the largest US online shopping day in history, with $6.6 billion in sales, a 16.5 percent increase from 2016.
Other information released by Adobe includes:
- The holiday shopping season so far, Nov. 1 to Nov. 24, saw $38.3 billion in online shopping revenue. That's a year-over-year increase of 17.8 percent.
- Chromecast and Roku streaming devices and the Nintendo Switch were among the top sellers on Black Friday. They were joined by playthings such as Hatchimals & Colleggtibles toys, PJ Masks, L.O.L. Surprise Dolls and Ride On Cars.
- More and more shoppers made purchases via mobile devices on Black Friday, with the gadgets accounting for 54.3 percent of page visits and 36.9 percent of sales. Not surprisingly, phones were tops, with 44.6 percent of visits and 26 percent of revenue.
Adobe's report is based on looking at 1 trillion visits to more than 4,500 retail sites.
TVs, laptops, toys and gaming consoles - particularly the PlayStation 4 - were among the most heavily discounted and the biggest sellers, according to retail analysts and consultants.
Commerce marketing firm Criteo said 46% of all purchases were made on mobile phones: with shoppers at home. This is strongest day for mobile commerce Criteo has yet seen in the US.
Retail research firm ShopperTrak said that Black Friday (i.e., 11/24/17 12 AM - 11:59 PM) brick-and-mortar retail traffic has held steady YOY, as the company's data shows a less than -1% decrease in YOY Black Friday shopper traffic numbers.
With YOY Black Friday shopper traffic declines levelling out, and two consecutive years (2016 & 2017) of minimal YOY decreases on the books, it's reasonable to believe that brick-and-mortar holiday shopping trends are stabilizing.
About five years ago, Black Friday shopping began extending into Thanksgiving night. Initially, ShopperTrak data indicated that shoppers responded positively to the late-night hours, showing up to stores in droves. However, as consumers' enthusiasm for late Thanksgiving night deals waned and the popularity of online shopping grew, retailers and consumers alike scrambled to settle on an ideal approach to kicking off the holiday shopping season.