Consumers spent record $9.12 billion online on Black Friday: analysis

Consumers spent a record amount of money on online purchases on Black Friday, surpassing $9 billion, according to Adobe Analytics data. 

Adobe found that $9.12 billion was spent on Friday, marking a 2.3 percent rise year over year. Electronics sales were a large driver of the increase, with such online sales up 221 percent from the average day in October. 

Items such as audio equipment, toys and exercise equipment also sold well, with sales of each up more than 200 percent from an average day last month. 

Adobe additionally found that consumers turned to flexible ways to make payments amid high inflation and rising prices. The number of buy-now, pay-later orders increased by 78 percent this week compared to last week, and revenue from those orders rose 81 percent in the same period. 

“As Black Friday hit record spending online, we’re also seeing more prominent signs of a budget-conscious consumer this year,” said Adobe digital insights lead analyst Vivek Pandya. “Shoppers are embracing the Buy Now Pay Later payment method more this year to be able to buy desired gifts for family and friends.” 

The percentage of sales being done on mobile phones also reached a record high, with 48 percent of online sales coming from smartphones, according to Adobe. 

Games such as FIFA 23 and gaming devices such as PlayStation 5 remained popular, and drones and Apple MacBooks also sold well. 

Adobe expects e-commerce activity to remain strong throughout the weekend, with consumers set to spend about $4.5 billion on Saturday and $5 billion on Sunday. Cyber Monday is expected to be the season’s and year’s biggest online shopping day, producing more than $11 billion in sales. 

Adobe’s analysis covers more than 1 trillion visits to U.S. retail sites and 18 product categories.