Online buying hit a record on Black Friday; 54% of such purchases were made on a smartphone

Online buying set a record yesterday for Black Friday as Adobe Analytics (via TechCrunch) recorded $9.8 billion in U.S. sales for the first Friday after Thanksgiving, the official start to the holiday shopping season in the States. Not only was that a healthy 7.5% year-over-year gain, but the figure also topped analysts' estimates calling for $9.6 billion in online Black Friday sales for 2023. 

In a statement, Rob Garf, VP and GM of Retail at Salesforce, said, "Black Friday online sales performance exceeded any retail executive’s expectations. Retailers stepped up their discounting game and shoppers, in turn, clicked the buy button." Adobe Analytics also noted that discounts being offered on Black Friday were as high as 35% off of the retail price. Sales made over a smartphone accounted for $5.3 billion of the $9.8 billion in online sales on Friday or 54%. Adobe Analytics says that this will prove to be the "norm" for this year with the volume of sales over smartphones expected to make up 51% of the total this holiday shopping season.

Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights, explained the strength in online Black Friday sales this year. "Black Friday re-asserted its dominance this season with record spend of $9.8 billion driven by new demand for the major sales’ day," Pandya stated. "The decline in online prices over the last year has created a favorable environment for consumers with strong discounts this season that are tempting even the most price-conscious consumers."

Consumers are willing to cut back on shipping this year as Adobe noted that 80.5% of online orders are being delivered with standard shipping. This certainly makes sense for Black Friday considering that the actual holiday is still a month away. In other words, there is no reason to shell out for faster shipping when it is not needed although this percentage may get lower as we get closer to Christmas Day.

Adobe also forecasts that the "Cyber Week" shopping period, which runs from Thanksgiving to this coming "Cyber Monday," will generate $37.2 billion in online sales or 17% of all sales during the holiday shopping season.