NEW YORK — American consumers set a new record on Black Friday, spending $11.8 billion online, according to Adobe Analytics, which tracks over 1 trillion visits to U.S. retail sites. That’s up from $10.8 billion last year. During peak hours (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.), shoppers spent about $12.5 million per minute. Adobe called Black Friday “a major e-commerce moment” as more people opt to shop from home.
Overall U.S. retail sales rose 4.1% year-over-year, Mastercard SpendingPulse reported, though in-store traffic was subdued as inflation and economic uncertainty tempered spending.
Meanwhile software firm Salesforce reported that American consumers had spent $18 billion on Black Friday purchases, up 3% from a year ago, with luxury apparel and accessories among the most popular categories.
“Black Friday has really turned into like a full week event, or even further,” Grant Gustafson, head of retail consulting and analytics at Sensormatic Solutions told Associated Press. And “Black Friday is really the start of just a really and critical stretch for retailers,” he added — noting that the weekend following Thanksgiving, as well as the days leading up to Christmas next month, will also be some of the busiest in terms of in-store traffic.
Cyber Monday is expected to be even bigger, with online sales projected to reach $14.2 billion, Reuters said. Adobe forecasts total holiday spending of $253.4 billion, up from $241.1 billion in 2024.
Globally, Salesforce reported $79 billion in Black Friday sales, including $18 billion in the U.S.—increases of 6% and 3%, respectively. But growth may reflect higher prices rather than demand: prices rose 7% while order volumes fell 1%.
For the full holiday season, the National Retail Federation expects U.S. shoppers to surpass $1 trillion for the first time, though growth is slowing to 3.7–4.2%, compared with 4.3% last year.
