Black Friday records blockbuster sales; generates $9.8 bn in US online sales [details]

Black Friday generated a record $9.8 billion in US online sales, up 7.5 per cent from a year ago.

According to Adobe Analytics, mobile shopping accounted for $5.3 billion of online sales.

The best-selling categories on Black Friday were electronics such as smartwatches and televisions, as well as toys and gaming, reports CNBC.

“We’ve seen a very strategic consumer emerge over the past year where they’re really trying to take advantage of these marquee days, so that they can maximise on discounts,” Vivek Pandya, a lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights, was quoted as saying.

Pandya noted that influencers and social media advertising have made it easier for consumers to spend money on their mobile devices.

However, shoppers were price-conscious, managing tighter budgets as a result of last year’s record inflation and interest rates.

A total of $79 million of the sales came from consumers who used the ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ flexible payment method, up 47 per cent from last year.

Adobe collects data by analysing one trillion visits to retail websites in the US, 18 product categories, and 100 million unique items.

Black Friday continued the momentum from Thanksgiving Day when online sales totalled $5.6 billion, an increase of 5.5 per cent from last year.

Adobe expects spending to remain strong over the weekend and into Cyber Monday, with the best deals still to come.

The report forecasted that online shoppers will spend approximately $10 billion on Saturday and Sunday, and a record $12 billion on Cyber Monday.

(With inputs from IANS)