We can't wait to see the MAGA propagandists spin this: Black Friday online sales hit a record $9.8 billion, up 7.5% from last year. From CNBC:
"Black Friday e-commerce spending popped 7.5% from a year earlier, reaching a record $9.8 billion in the U.S., according to an Adobe Analytics report, a further indication that price-conscious consumers want to spend on the best deals and are hunting for those deals online.
"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 maximize on discounts," said Vivek Pandya, a lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights.
Black Friday's spending spike reflects a consumer who is more willing to spend than in 2022, when gas and food prices were painfully high."
In- store shopping numbers were also up 2 - 5% over last year.
The Biden Administration's efforts to reduce inflation are showing up in higher consumer spending, at least on traditional bargain days online. More:
"The best-selling categories of Black Friday, the Adobe report found, were electronics like smartwatches and televisions, along with toys and gaming. Meanwhile, home-repair tools underperformed. Pandya said top sellers directly correlated to whichever products had the best discounts.
Adobe gathers its data by analyzing one trillion visits to U.S. retail websites, 18 product categories and 100 million unique items. It does not track brick-and-mortar retail transactions."
Cyber Monday is tomorrow, and is also expected to break records:
"Adobe expects the spending strength to hold over the weekend and through Cyber Monday with the biggest bargains still ahead. The report forecasts that online shoppers will spend roughly $10 billion over the course of Saturday and Sunday, and a record $12 billion on Cyber Monday."
It's not unreasonable to expect Christmas shopping both online and in stores to replicate Black Friday and Cyber Monday trends, all signs of growing consumer confidence despite pockets of nagging inflation.
