U.S. consumers spent a record amount online on Thanksgiving Day, as the busiest days of the holiday shopping season got off to a strong start.
As shoppers head to the stores today for Black Friday deals, online results are showing that consumers are responding strongly to Cyber Week deals that kicked off this week.
Online sales tracked by Adobe Analytics, Salesforce, and Shopify showed online growth on Thanksgiving.
Salesforce is projecting that based on Thanksgiving Day results this could be the strongest Cyber Week ever in terms of online sales.
While the numbers available thus far reflect online sales only, there are early indications that Americans are showing up to shop in stores as well.
Pass-by, an AI-powered geospatial insights company that tracks store visits, showed on its live Black Friday counter on its website that over 143 million shoppers had visited U.S. retailers by 11:30 a.m. today. That is down slightly compared to last year, but could reflect the fact that online shopping means it no longer is necessary to get to stores early for doorbuster deals.
Adobe Analytics, which has been tracking online prices since 2014, reported that U.S shoppers spent a record 6.1 billion online on Thanksgiving, up 8.8% over the previous Thanksgiving. That’s a significantly stronger growth rate than Thanksgiving Day 2023, when online sales rose 5.5%. according to Adobe.
Much of the increased online shopping on Thanksgiving apparently was driven by the ease of mobile shopping, which allows consumers to make quick purchases on their phones while in the midst of other activities.
Mobile purchases were up 10.5% on Thanksgiving, and accounted for more than half of all purchases, at 59.5%, adding up to $3.6 billion spent, Adobe reported.
The peak period for mobile purchases on Thanksgiving Day was between 8 and 10 p.m. across time zones, according to Adobe.
Purchases made using buy now, pay later plans were up 10.3%, at $430 million, Adobe reported.
Salesforce, which tracks global online sales across its Commerce Cloud, Marketing Cloud, and Service Cloud platforms, reported global Thanksgiving Day sales of $33.6 billion, up 6%.
U.S. online sales on Thanksgiving were up 8%, at $8.1 billion, Salesforce reported.
The early data shows that consumers were waiting for Cyber Week deals, and were ready to spend when they arrived.
“Back in the spring of 2024, nearly two thirds of consumers reported that they were waiting for Cyber Week deals to make splurge purchases,” Caila Schwartz, Director of Consumer Insights at Salesforce, said in response to the Thanksgiving numbers.
“The sales and order growth over the last few days implies that these shoppers stayed true to their word,” Schwartz said. “This could be the strongest Cyber Week we’ve ever seen.”
Shopify, the e-commerce platform used by millions of merchants and brands, also reported a strong start to the peak selling period.
The peak sales hour on Thanksgiving for Shopify merchants was 9 p.m. EST, and the average cart price was $164.47, Shopify reported.
Shopify President Harley Finkelstein, in an emailed comment this morning, said the outlook is good for a strong weekend for Shopify merchants.
“We’re just a few hours into Black Friday in North America, but the excitement is already building across the globe, with merchants gearing up for a strong weekend,” Finkelstein said.
“One thing is clear,” Finkelstein said, “consumers are continuing to buy from their favorite brands, and those brands are all powered by Shopify, It’s shaping up to be another incredible Black Friday weekend for entrepreneurs,” he said.
Shopify is tracking sales and trends as they occur over the holiday weekend with its annual holiday sales globe on its website.
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