The holiday season comes amid dire warnings of tight budgets, weaker demand and… drop in consumer confidence — but buyers did not receive the memo.
Consumers spent a record $11.8 billion online on Friday, up 9.1% from last year, according to Adobe Analytics, which tracks 1 trillion retail website visits. Sales of game consoles, electronics and home appliances have increased year on year. Between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., $12.5 million passed through shopping carts every minute.
The data provides an important snapshot of the state of American consumers after nearly a year of economic uncertainty, with the labor market worsening and tariffs putting pressure on prices. Surveys have shown that many consumers, especially members of Generation Z, plan to spend an average of 10% less than in 2024.
But that doesn't seem to be the case, at least online, amid massive discounting from retailers. Grocers such as Walmart and Target sold discounted Thanksgiving food baskets, and high-end stores and department stores also emphasized price reduction.
Michelle Meyer, chief economist at the Mastercard Economics Institute, said people are “navigating an uncertain environment” this holiday season by “buying early, taking advantage of promotions and investing in wish-list items.” In other words, Americans still love a deal.
Part of this appears to have been driven by artificial intelligence. Adobe reported that AI-driven traffic to retail websites is up 805% compared to 2024. In the past year, companies like Walmart and Amazon have launched AI-powered shopping assistants, while adoption of products like ChatGPT continues to grow. Artificial intelligence and agents have impacted about $3 billion in online sales in the United States, according to software giant Salesforce.
And online shopping overall continued to grow much faster than in-person shopping, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse data, which pointed to a 10.4% increase in online sales on Black Friday, compared with a 1.7% increase in in-person sales.
Thanksgiving also hit a record high, with shoppers spending $6.4 billion on Thursday, according to Adobe. Sales are expected to peak at $14.2 billion this Cyber Monday, another record. “Black Friday has really become a week-long event or more,” said Grant Gustafson, head of retail consulting and analytics at Sensormatic Solutions, according to the Associated Press.
