Washington, United States:
U.S. consumers spent a record $10.8 billion online during “Black Friday” promotions, with many using artificial intelligence tools to find the best deals, Adobe Analytics announced Saturday.
Total sales were 10.2 percent higher than on Black Friday in 2023, the report said.
The biggest sales during the annual day-after-Thanksgiving promotions were for toys, jewelry, home appliances, skin and hair care products, clothing and electronic devices.
Crossing the $10 billion mark was a significant step for e-commerce, as Black Friday shopping traditionally took place in physical stores, according to Adobe Digital Insights analyst Vivek Pandya.
The high spending totals were not the result of price inflation but of rising demand, Adobe said, adding that electronic sales had seen prices fall for 26 consecutive months – down 2.9 percent in October from the same month in 2023 .
AI turned out to play an important role. Traffic on sites that use artificial intelligence to guide consumers was up as much as 1,800 percent from last year's Black Friday, Adobe said.
An Adobe study found that consumers were using AI not only to find the best deals, but also to quickly find specific items or get product recommendations.
Every year, Black Friday marks the opening of the holiday sales season in the United States.
As Black Friday promotions continue, online consumers are expected to spend an additional $5.2 billion on Saturday and $5.6 billion on Sunday, Adobe said. And for Cyber Monday, record sales of $13.2 billion are forecast, up 6.1 percent from 2023.
For the entire five-day period, Thursday through Monday, consumers are expected to spend a total of $40.6 billion online, up seven percent from last year, Adobe said.
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