Thanksgiving Day online sales touch $5.3 bn in US, mobile top choice

San Francisco, Nov 26

People spent $5.3 billion in online shopping on Thanksgiving Day in the U.S., up 2.8 per cent from last year.

According to Adobe Analytics, mobile devices accounted for 55 per cent of all online shopping, up 8.3 per cent from a year ago.

"Thanksgiving this year has become an inflection point, where smartphones drove real growth and highlights how much these experiences have improved," said Vivek Pandya, lead analyst, Adobe Digital Insights.

Consumers spent $72.2 billion online in October, 10.9 per cent more than they did in the month prior.

The spend is on par with what consumers spent last year ($72.4 billion in October 2021), where earlier deals also drove an uptick in early holiday shopping, according to Adobe Analytics.

Consumers were enticed by bargains in categories including electronics and toys, where discounts have been as high as 17 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively.

"Shoppers have also seen good deals for computers (10 per cent), with more modest discounts in categories like televisions (4 per cent), sporting goods (3 per cent) and furniture (2 per cent)," said the report.

Adobe expects the best deals to still happen around Cyber Week.

Adobe has predicted that Cyber Week will generate $34.8 billion in online spend this year, up 2.8 per cent on a year ago.

"Despite inflationary pressures and the rising cost of borrowing, there was not a material decline this year in early holiday shopping," said Taylor Schreiner, senior director, Adobe Digital Insights.

"With over $72 billion spent online in October, e-commerce demand has shown itself to be durable and resilient, in spite of a challenging macroeconomic environment," Schreiner added.