Post-Thanksgiving shopper madness is stompingly underway, and while the Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday tradition is starting to catch on outside the US, American shoppers are spending more than ever this holiday season—a lot more. Adobe and the Consumer Technology Association both report record-breaking figures for the year so far, poising retailers for a shopping event to remember.
Record-breaking sales
More than $5 billion was spent online over Thanksgiving and Black Friday, a 17.7 percent increase year-over-year, according to a weekend report by Adobe. Black Friday itself set a new record by surpassing the $3 billion mark for the first time at $3.34 billion, a growth of 21.6 percent YoY.
Black Friday also became the first day in retail history to drive over $1 billion in mobile revenue at $1.2 billion, a 33 percent growth YoY. Conversions improved over holiday averages, reported Adobe, with smartphones at 2.4 percent, tablets at 4.6 percent and desktops at 5.5 percent (compared to holiday averages of 1.3, 2.9 and 3.2 percent, respectively). The average order value (AOV) on iOS smartphones ($142) was higher compared to Android smartphones ($130).
More shoppers
According to the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the number of US adults shopping during the week starting on Black Friday has increased six percent over the last year to 135.9 million. The National Retail Federation says 122 million Americans plan to shop online on Cyber Monday, up from 121 million who planned to do so last year.
Still Flocking To Stores
Despite all those disturbing images of Black Friday crowds, Americans still prefer to buy in-store. Of the 25 percent of Americans planning to buy tech this week (surveyed by the CTA), 76 percent were doing so in physical stores, while 57 percent shopped online and some did both. It seems ironic not to use tech to buy tech, but CTA attributes this trend to a need for physical contact and analysis before buying.
What people are buying
The CTA’s 2016 Post Black Friday Survey also finds it was a record year for tech with 61.7 million American adults (25 percent), an increase over last year, that have bought or plan to buy tech products over the course of the holiday shopping week.
Adobe reports this year’s hottest items to be:
Toys: LEGO builder sets, Razor electronic scooters
Tech: Apple iPads, Samsung 4K TVs
Video Games: Pokémon Sun and Moon, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
Consoles: PlayStation 4, Xbox One