Online Sales Break Black Friday Record as Clicks Beat Queues
NEW YORK — Black Friday hit a record $7.4 billion in U.S. online sales as many shoppers spent the day clicking instead of lining up to buy.
It was the second-biggest U.S. online sales day ever, behind 2018 Cyber Monday’s $7.9 billion, according to a survey of 80 of the top 100 U.S. online retailers from Adobe Analytics.
Shoppers increasingly favor buying online from the start of the holiday season, rather than waiting for Cyber Monday as they may have a few years ago. That’s in part as they transition to purchasing via mobile devices from using computers — often at the office after the holiday weekend.
Purchases made by smartphone on Friday accounted for $2.9 billion in sales, the most ever.
“With Christmas now rapidly approaching, consumers increasingly jumped on their phones rather than standing in line,” said Adobe analyst Taylor Schreiner.
Overall it remained unclear the percentages of sales online versus in stores this holiday weekend.
Yet some shoppers still prefer the Black Friday in-store experience, which is sometimes a family hunting-and-gathering expedition after Thanksgiving festivities.
For example, the Atlantic Terminal Mall Best Buy in Brooklyn sold out of Apple Inc. iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pros on Friday and had lines stretching the length of the store as shoppers picking up Microsoft Corp. Xboxes and Nintendo Co. Switches among other big-ticket items.
One out of 5 dollars this holiday season will be spent between Thanksgiving Day and Cyber Monday, according to Adobe figures, which are similar to estimates provided by Salesforce. Cyber Monday sales are poised to outshine 2018’s record by 19%.
———
With assistance from Cristin Flanagan and Jordyn Holman.
———
©2019 Bloomberg News
Visit Bloomberg News at www.bloomberg.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
In The News
Health
Voting
In The News
WASHINGTON - President Biden’s advocacy during a speech in Lake Charles, La., for $2.25 trillion in infrastructure spending won support from passenger rail executives who testified in Congress Thursday. Biden’s plan would set aside $621 billion specifically to rebuild the nation's roads, bridges, rails and airports.... Read More
President Joe Biden planned to ration red meat. Colorado Rep. Rep. Lauren Boebert suggested Biden "stay out of my kitchen." Texas Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted out a headline warning Biden was getting "Up in your grill." The news was wrong — Biden is planning no such... Read More
ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced Thursday she will not seek a second term, an election-year surprise that marks a sharp turnabout for the city's second Black woman executive who months ago was among those President Joe Biden considered for his running mate.... Read More
As Republicans march ahead with their campaign to tighten voting laws in political battlegrounds, some in their party are worried the restrictions will backfire by making it harder for GOP voters to cast ballots. The restrictions backed by Republicans in Georgia, Florida, Iowa, Texas and Arizona... Read More
WASHINGTON - By late 2020 over 2800 formal Equal Employment Opportunity complaints of discrimination - by race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion and more - were submitted to the Department of Veterans Affairs. The fact that there are that many complaints in one year points... Read More
WASHINGTON- Although western sanctions have not forced the Russian government to completely end its aggressions in Ukraine, the true impact of the sanctions has not been fully acknowledged, according to a new report from the Atlantic Council, an international affairs think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C.... Read More
