American shoppers spent a record $11.8 billion online on Black Friday, marking a 9.1% increase from last year, according to final data from Adobe Analytics cited by Reuters. Adobe, which tracks more than 1 trillion U.S. retail site visits, projects that consumers will spend $5.5 billion on Saturday and $5.9 billion on Sunday, up 3.8% and 5.4% from a year earlier.
Salesforce, which also monitors online retail trends, reported that U.S. consumers spent $18 billion on Black Friday, a 3% rise from last year. Luxury apparel and accessories were among the strongest-performing segments, the company said.
Despite the higher overall spending figures, Salesforce noted that inflation and rising prices dampened demand on a per-item basis, with shoppers purchasing fewer products at checkout compared to last year. Adobe’s and Salesforce’s data underscore a consumer environment in which Americans are spending more in total but remain cautious about individual purchase volumes.
At brick-and-mortar stores, foot traffic was steady but restrained on Friday morning. Some shoppers told Reuters they were wary of overspending in the face of persistent inflation, uncertainty tied to trade policy, and a soft labor market.
Looking ahead, Adobe forecasts that Cyber Monday will once again be the biggest online shopping day of the season. Spending is expected to reach $14.2 billion, a 6.3% increase from last year.
