Dive Brief:
- U.S. online retail sales are expected to hit record highs this holiday season, reaching $240.8 billion for the period of Nov. 1 through Dec. 31. That represents an 8.4% increase over last year’s holiday season, according to a report by Adobe Analytics released Wednesday.
- Similar to 2023, the firm predicts retailers to offer discounts of up to 30% off listed prices on such categories as electronics and toys. Other steep discounts in line with last year are expected for TVs at 24% and sporting goods at 20% off.
- Purchases on mobile devices are expected to jump 12.8% year over year to a record $128.1 billion, representing 53.2% of all online shopping. It marks the second consecutive year that purchasing on a mobile device eclipsed computers.
Dive Insight:
Consumers are adjusting to inflation and other economic concerns by shopping earlier and mining for discounts, per Adobe.
Like years past, several retailers — including Amazon, Walmart and Target — have already announced holiday sales events beginning in October.
“The holiday shopping season has been reshaped in recent years, where consumers are making purchases earlier, driven by a stream of discounts that has allowed shoppers to manage their budgets in different ways,” Vivek Pandya, lead analyst for Adobe Digital Insights, said in a statement. “These discounting patterns are driving material changes in shopping behavior, with certain consumers now trading up to goods that were previously higher-priced and propelling growth for U.S. retailers.”
Buy now, pay later is increasing again this year, according to Adobe. The report projects that BNPL will be up 11.4% year over year during the holidays to a record $18.5 billion in online spending. According to Adobe, 22% of consumers said that BNPL allowed them to free up cash and 19% said it allowed them to purchase something they couldn’t otherwise afford.
And Cyber Week — the five-day period from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday — is projected to drive $40.6 billion in online sales, up 7% from last year. Cyber Monday is expected to be the biggest shopping day of the year, with $13.2 billion in online sales, according to Adobe.
