According to Adobe Analytics' latest report, the 2024 U.S. holiday shopping season (including the five-day shopping period from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday) has seen unprecedented growth, with total online shopping expenditures reaching an all-time high.

-Cyber Monday Sets a New Record-

On Cyber Monday 2024 (November 25th), consumers spent a total of $13.3 billion online, a year-on-year increase of 7.3%, exceeding Adobe's initial forecast of $13.2 billion. During the peak shopping hours from 8 am to 10 am EST, consumer spending reached a record-breaking $15.8 million per minute.

Consumers scrambled to buy electronic products, toys, clothing, and other goods on this day, with some items receiving discounts of over 30%. For example, the average discount for electronic products was 30.1%, toys were 26.1%, and clothing was 23.2%, while TVs and computers also had discounts of 21.8% and 21.5%, respectively.

-Black Friday and Thanksgiving Perform Well-

Online sales on Black Friday (November 29th) and Thanksgiving (November 28th) in 2024 also saw significant growth. Black Friday sales reached $10.8 billion, a year-on-year increase of 10.2%, while Thanksgiving online sales were $6.1 billion, up 8.8% year-on-year. These two days' sales contributed a large portion of the revenue for the entire Cyber Week (the five-day shopping period from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday), with total Cyber Week sales reaching $41.1 billion, up 8.2% year-on-year.

-Mobile Shopping Dominates-

On Cyber Monday 2024, 57% of online shopping expenditures came from mobile devices, totaling $7.6 billion, a year-on-year increase of 13.3%. This data indicates that more and more consumers are accustomed to shopping via their mobile phones. In contrast, mobile shopping accounted for only 33% of Cyber Monday sales in 2019.

-Generative AI and Social Media Influence Consumer Shopping Decisions-

Generative AI-driven chatbots have become a new trend in shopping. On Cyber Monday 2024, the number of visits to retail websites through chatbot traffic increased by 1,950% year-on-year. This indicates that consumers are increasingly relying on these intelligent assistants to find discount information and quickly locate products.

In addition, the marketing effectiveness of social media influencers is becoming increasingly significant, with social media contributing 20.3% of sales on Cyber Monday, up 6.8% year-on-year, and influencers' conversion rates are six times higher than the overall social media.

-What Goods Are Consumers Eager to Buy?

On Cyber Monday 2024, toys became the most popular product category, with sales increasing by 680% compared to the average level in October. Other categories with strong demand include personal care (up 530%), jewelry (up 478%), home appliances (up 464%), electronics (up 452%), and clothing (up 392%).

Best-selling products include ElfontheShelf dolls, Harry Potter series toys, LEGO City series, PS5, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch OLED, etc. Computers, digital cameras, TVs, Bluetooth headphones, skincare products, and cosmetics are also hot-selling items.

-Buy, Buy, Buy! Diversification of Shopping and Payment Methods-

Buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) services reached a new high on Cyber Monday, with total expenditures of $991 million, up 5.5% year-on-year. Most BNPL transactions (75.2%) occurred on mobile devices, reflecting that more and more consumers hope to flexibly manage their holiday shopping budgets.

-2024 Holiday Season Consumption Trends-

As of December 2nd, 2024, U.S. consumers have spent $131.5 billion online during the holiday season, up 9.0% year-on-year. Among them, mobile shopping accounted for 53.1% of the share, amounting to $69.8 billion, up 14.1% year-on-year.

The three main categories - electronics ($30.1 billion, up 10.6% year-on-year), clothing ($24.6 billion, up 9.5% year-on-year), and furniture ($16.2 billion, up 6.6% year-on-year) - accounted for more than half of online consumption.

-Continuous Price Discounts Drive Sales of High-Price Goods-

With increased discount efforts, more and more consumers are choosing to buy higher-priced goods. During the 2024 holiday season, sales volume of higher-priced goods increased by 28%, with electronics growing by 86%, sports goods by 63%, home appliances by 59%, and personal care products and toys by 33% and 21%, respectively.

-Summary-

The sales data for Black Friday and Cyber Monday in 2024 reflect the strong demand of U.S. consumers during the shopping season, especially driven by mobile shopping, social media marketing, and generative AI. Adobe predicts that the total online shopping amount for the entire holiday season (November 1st to December 31st) in 2024 will exceed $240.8 billion, up 8.4% year-on-year. Therefore, sellers who did not meet their sales targets on Black Friday and Cyber Monday should quickly adjust their mindset and strategy and make another sprint for the upcoming Christmas!

PS: This report is based on Adobe Analytics data, which provides the most comprehensive understanding of U.S. e-commerce by analyzing online commercial transactions, covering more than 1 trillion visits to U.S. retail websites, 100 million SKUs, and 18 product categories. Most of the top 100 Internet retailers in the United States rely on Adobe Analytics to provide, measure, and personalize online shopping experiences.All time expressions are in U.S. time.