Black Friday 2023 Shatters Records with $8.6 Billion in Online Spending – and AI is Driving the Surge
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Consumers delivered a record-breaking Black Friday,with online spending reaching $8.6 billion by early evening,according to data from Adobe Analytics. The surge indicates a strong start to the holiday shopping season,with projections suggesting the final tally could exceed initial forecasts. Through 6:30 p.m. ET, Black Friday online spending represents a 9.4% growth compared to last year,an increase from its earlier projection of $11.7 billion. This would establish a new single-day record for online shopping. Notably, more buyers are turning to artificial intelligence (AI) tools and “Buy Now Pay Later” (BNPL) options to facilitate purchases.
The data is based on an analysis of commerce transactions across over 1 trillion visits to US retail sites, encompassing 100 million products across 18 categories. “Adobe surveyed over 1,000 US consumers and nearly half believe the best deals this season will come on Black Friday, pushing many to hit buy on products before Cyber Monday,” said a led analyst at Adobe Digital Insights in a statement. “Given the strong spending so far today, we anticipate the final tally for online shopping on Black Friday will exceed our initial forecast.”
A Robust Cyber Week on the Horizon
This strong Black Friday performance sets the stage for what adobe expects to be a robust Cyber Week – the five-day period spanning Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday. The company forecasts that this period will account for 17.2% of the entire holiday season’s spending, totaling $43.7 billion, up 6.3% from last year.
What’s Flying Off the virtual Shelves?
The hottest sellers so far include televisions, the newly released Nintendo Switch 2, Apple AirPods 4, and the Oura Ring 4. Kitchen items, such as KitchenAid stand mixers and storage containers, have also been in high demand, alongside washers and dryers, bicycles, and basketball hoops.
Adobe’s survey revealed that 50% of respondents planned to shop for apparel and accessories online on Black Friday, followed by toys at 40% and computers and electronics at 36%.
Deeper Discounts Fuel Spending
The surge in spending has been fueled by discounts that were deeper than analysts initially anticipated. Electronics saw the steepest markdowns, reaching up to 29% off list prices, followed by toys at 28%, apparel at 25%, and televisions at 24%. meaningful price cuts also extended to computers, appliances, furniture, and sporting goods, ranging from 19% to 23% off.
AI and Mobile Shopping take Center Stage
Shoppers are increasingly leveraging artificial intelligence for assistance in navigating deals and identifying the right products.AI-driven traffic to retail sites, measured by shoppers clicking on links from AI assistants, is expected to surge 600% compared to last year.
Nearly half of respondents in Adobe’s survey indicated they have used or plan to use AI for online shopping this season, primarily for finding deals, conducting product research, and receiving recommendations. The growing reliance on AI shopping tools coincides with companies racing to integrate the technology into the holiday shopping experience. Earlier this week, OpenAI introduced a shopping research feature in ChatGPT that builds personalized buyer’s guides by asking clarifying questions and surfacing information from across the web.
Mobile shopping continues to dominate, accounting for 58.6% of online sales so far and driving $5.1 billion in spending – a 11.3% year-over-year increase. This represents a higher mobile share than last year’s Black Friday,when phones and tablets accounted for 55% of purchases.
Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services also experienced heightened activity, expected to drive $761.8 million in Black Friday spending, representing an 11% increase from the previous year. The vast majority of these installment purchases are happening on mobile devices, which account for 82.4% of BNPL transactions this holiday season. Consumers are most likely to use the payment option for electronics, apparel, toys, and furniture.
Black Friday 2023 is proving to be a pivotal moment in the evolution of holiday shopping,demonstrating the increasing influence of technology and consumer demand for value.
