Black Friday Online Sales Smash Records As Shoppers Avoid Stores
Black Friday online sales surge to record highs as consumers bypass physical stores amid the pandemic. Smartphones drive a significant portion of this historic digital shopping shift.
Black Friday online sales reach record levels as shoppers bypass physical stores during the coronavirus pandemic. Preliminary data from Adobe Analytics shows digital sales are on pace to hit between $8.9 billion and $9.6 billion, marking a 20% to 29% increase over last year. Consumers spend at least $6.2 million per minute online as the traditional in-store shopping frenzy shifts almost entirely to the internet.
Smartphones play a major role in this holiday shopping transformation, accounting for nearly 42% of all online sales by early evening. Retailers that offer curbside pickup see a 31% higher conversion rate compared to those that do not. Additionally, states with stricter Covid-19 restrictions experience 3.4 times higher year-over-year growth in online shopping on Thanksgiving Day than states with fewer limits.
The momentum from Thanksgiving, which brings in a record $5.1 billion in online sales, sets the stage for an even bigger Cyber Monday. Adobe anticipates that Cyber Monday becomes the largest online sales day in history, with totals projected to reach between $11.2 billion and $13 billion. Meanwhile, physical stores experience noticeably emptier parking lots and shorter lines as early October discounts and pandemic concerns keep shoppers at home.