Business services provider Adobe reported consumers spent $241.4 billion online for the 2024 holiday season of November 1 through December 31, up 8.7% for the period year-over-year.
During the November-December period, 15 days saw consumers spend more than $4 billion up from 11 days in 2024, according to Adobe.
Mobile shopping hit a new milestone, Adobe maintained, with 54.5% of online transactions taking place through a smartphone versus 51.1% in the year-earlier season. Mobile shopping was highest on Christmas Day, driving 65% of online sales versus 63% in the 2024 period.
Substantial discounts enticed price-sensitive holiday shoppers to spend. Electronics discounts peaked at 30.1% off listed price, versus 31% in 2024. Discounts on toys peaked at 28%, flat to 2024; apparel deals peaked at 23.2%, versus 24% in 2024; computer deals peaked at 22.8%, versus 24% in 2024; and furniture/home goods deals peaked at 19%, versus 21% in 2024. Discounts hit record highs for televisions at 24.2% versus 23% in the year-prior period, appliances at 19.2% versus 18% and sporting goods at 19.5% versus 18%.
Adobe’s data demonstrated that for every 1% decrease in price during the 2024 holiday season, demand increased by 1% compared to the 2023 period. Discounts drove consumers to purchase higher-ticket items in categories such as electronics, appliances and sporting goods, Adobe pointed out. In the 2024 holiday season, the share of units sold for the most expensive goods increased by 21% overall. As to most expensive by category, top gains were 54% in sporting goods, 48% in electronics, 35% in appliances, 32% in personal care products and 10% in apparel.
In the 2024 season, traffic to retail sites from generative AI-powered chat bots, where shoppers clicked on a link to a retail site, increased by 1,300% from the year before holiday period. Cyber Monday saw the biggest growth in chat bot usage, up 1,950% year over year. Although the base of users remains modest, Adobe noted, the uptick indicates that chat bots are becoming more important as shopping assistants. In an Adobe survey of 5,000 consumers in the United States, some 70% of respondents who have used generative AI for shopping believe it enhances their experience. In addition, 20% of respondents had turned to generative AI to find the best deals, while 19% did so to fine specific items online and 15% to get brand recommendations.
Other Adobe observations included:
- In the furniture/home category, holiday decor, bedding/linen sets, storage solutions, accent chairs and throw pillows/blankets were hot categories.
- Buy now, pay later use hit an all-time high in the 2024 holiday period, contributing $18.2 billion in online spend, up 9.6% year over year.
- Smartphone users represented the vast majority of BNPL purchases by device this season at 79.1%.
- Cyber Monday was the biggest BNPL day on record, driving $991.2 million of purchases and up 5.5% year over year.
- BNPL use was highest in electronics, tapped by 57% of electronics purchasers, 51% of apparel purchasers, 36% of video games purchasers, 33% of groceries purchasers, 30% of toys purchasers, 28% of health and beauty purchasers, and 19% of home and garden purchasers.
- Paid search has remained the top driver of retail sales this holiday season, with its share of revenue generated online at 29.7%, up 1% year over year.
- Affiliates and partners, including social media influencers, reached 17.6% of revenue driven online, up six points year over year.
- Retailer revenue generated by social media, at 5% of overall share, grew 5.4% year over year.
- Conversion of individuals making a purchase after seeing influencer content was nine times higher thant was the case for consumers pursuing social media overall.
- Curbside pickup represented 17.5% of online orders fulfilled this holiday season at retailers offering the service, down from 18.4% in the year previous period.
- Curbside pickup peaked on December 23 at 37.8% of online orders fulfilled at a time when pre-Christmas standard delivery windows had closed for the most part.
- Cyber Week, the five days from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday, saw year-over-year growth advance to $41.1 billion online overall, up 8.2%.
- Cyber Monday was the holiday season’s and 2024’s biggest online shopping day, driving $13.3 billion in sales, up 7.3% year over year.
- Thanksgiving enjoyed the biggest proportional gains during Cyber Week up 8.8% year over year to $6.1 billion, while Black Friday reached $10.8 billion, up 10.2%.
Adobe arrived at the figures by analyzing commerce transactions online, covering more than one trillion visits to U.S. retail sites, the company stated.
