(Reuters) – U.S. shoppers used their mobile phones, laptops, desktop computers and other devices to make about $10.8 billion in online purchases during Black Friday, an updated tally from Adobe (NASDAQ Analytics) showed.
Black Friday, the day after the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States, marks the official start of the holiday shopping season for retailers and competition has intensified to win over all the cash-strapped shoppers looking for discounts.
The rise of online shopping potentially favors e-commerce giants like amazon.com (NASDAQ:) and Walmart (NYSE:). Walmart, which operates 4,700 stores in the United States, has invested heavily in store-to-home deliveries during the holiday season to boost e-commerce.
U.S. online spending on Black Friday rose 10.2%, said Adobe, which tracks devices that use its software to help drive more than 1 billion visits to U.S. retail sites.
In 2023, American shoppers spent $9.8 billion online during Black Friday, and in 2022, they spent $9.1 billion, Adobe said.
For this year's Black Friday, Corey Coscioni, 58, said he hunted for bargains both online and in stores, looking for “gifts for everyone: my wife, my daughter and me.”
Best-selling products online include makeup, skin and hair care products, as well as Bluetooth speakers and espresso machines, Adobe said Saturday.
Online sales of toys were up 622% compared to average daily sales in October, while jewelry sales were up 561% and home appliances were up 476% compared to October, it added.
Separately, Salesforce (NYSE:), a cloud-based software company, said U.S. online sales rose 7% on Friday to $17.5 billion, according to its own tally updated Saturday. Salesforce, which analyzed traffic patterns at thousands of online retailers, said shoppers bought more appliances and furniture.
Department store chains such as Macy's (NYSE:) and Kohl's (NYSE:), as well as large retailers Aim (NYSE:) could see slow sales this season, which is shorter with only 26 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
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