Black Friday online sales hit a record this year, but high inflation, economic uncertainty and ever-longer holiday shopping season kept gains muted vs. 2021.
Online sales reached $9.12 billion on Black Friday, Nov. 25, up 2.3% vs. a year earlier, according to Adobe Analytics. Electronics led the way. Apple iPhone supplies may be tight, but Apple Watch, Apple AirPod and Apple MacBook offerings were in demand.
Toys were strong on Black Friday, with Fornite, Roblox and Funko Pop! doing well. Consumers also bought Microsoft Xbox Series X and Sony PlayStation 5 consoles, along with video games, according to Adobe.
Some 48% of Black Friday online sales came on smartphones vs. 44% in 2021.
More shoppers are deferring payments to buy holiday gifts now. Buy now, pay later orders surged 78% in the Nov. 19-25 week vs. the prior week.
The shift toward BNPL is important for Affirm, which has a deal with Amazon.com, Walmart and many other retailers. Square-parent Block also is a big BNPL player with its recent AfterPay acquisition. Both AFRM stock and Block are near bear-market lows.
Thanksgiving online sales rose 2.9% vs. a year earlier to a record $5.29 billion.
Cyber Monday Is Top Online Sales Day
Adobe expects sales from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday) to generate $34.8 billion in online purchases, up 2.8% YoY. That should account for 16.3% of November-December holiday sales. Cyber Monday will remain the year's biggest U.S. online shopping day at $11.2 billion, up 5.1%.
The holiday sales season arguably starts even before November now. Amazon held a second Prime Day event on Oct. 11-12, with many other retailers taking part.
Amazon stock is still near bear-market lows. Apple stock and Microsoft have bounced slightly but are trading below their 200-day moving averages.
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