Black Friday online sales top $9 billion in new record

Consumers spent a record $9.12 billion on online shopping during Black Friday this year, according to Adobe, which tracks sales on retailers’ websites.

Total online sales for the day after Thanksgiving rose 2.3 percent year-over-year, with electronics a major contributor, as online sales jumped 221 percent for an average day in October, Adobe said. Toys were another popular category for shoppers, up 285%, as was exercise equipment, up 218%.

Many consumers embraced Black Friday’s flexible payment plans as they continue to struggle with high prices and inflation. Buy Now Pay Later payments are up 78% compared to last week starting November 19, and Buy Now Pay Later revenue is up 81% over the same period.

Some of the hottest items this year included gaming consoles, drones, Apple MacBooks, Dyson products, and toys like Fortnite, Roblox, Bluey, Funko Pop! and Disney Encanto, according to the report.

Black Friday shoppers also broke records for mobile ordering, as 48% of online sales were made on smartphones, up from 44% last year.

The record spending comes on the back of a strong Thanksgiving shopping day in which consumers spent an all-time high of $5.29 billion online, up 2.9% year over year. Typically, shoppers spend about $2 billion to $3 billion online per day, according to Adobe.

For retailers, these numbers could be a promising indicator for the coming weeks. Early holiday forecasts were muted, and Target, Macy’s, Nordstrom and other retailers reported a lull in sales in late October and early November. Consumer sentiment also weakened in the past month as inflation hovered near four-decade highs.

Although Black Friday is over, e-commerce activity will remain strong over the weekend, according to Adobe’s report. Adobe expects consumers to spend $4.52 billion on Saturday and $4.99 billion on Sunday, ahead of the biggest online shopping day of the year, Cyber ​​Monday.

This year, Cyber ​​Monday is expected to drive $11.2 billion in spending, up 5.1 percent year over year, according to Adobe.