Shoppers spend billions on Black Friday to snag holiday deals, despite wider economic uncertainty

NEW YORK AP Despite wider economic uncertainty hovering above this year s holiday season shoppers turned out in big numbers for Black Friday spending billions of dollars both in stores and online Adobe Analytics which tracks e-commerce reported U S consumers spent a record billion online Friday marking a jump from last year Traffic particularly piled up between the hours of a m and p m local time nationwide when million passed through online shopping carts every minute Consumers also spent a record billion online on Thanksgiving Day per Adobe Top categories that saw an uptick in sales across both days included video tournament consoles electronics and home appliances Shopping services powered by artificial intelligence and social media advertising have also particularly influenced what consumers choose to buy the firm declared Meanwhile solution company Salesforce estimated that Black Friday online sales totaled billion in the U S and billion globally And e-commerce platform Shopify noted its merchants raked in a record billion in sales worldwide on Black Friday At its peak sales reached million per minute with top categories including cosmetics and clothing according to the Canadian company Mastercard SpendingPulse which tracks in-person and online spending communicated that overall Black Friday sales excluding automotive rose from a year ago The retail sales indicator which is not adjusted for inflation demonstrated online sales jumped by double digits while in-store purchases inched up Michelle Meyer chief economist at the Mastercard Economics Institute revealed consumers are navigating an uncertain setting this holiday season by shopping early leveraging promotions and investing in wish-list items Black Friday is far from the sales event that created midnight mall crowds or doorbuster mayhem just decades ago More and more consumers have instead turned to online deals to make post-Thanksgiving purchases from the comfort of their own homes or opt to stretch out spending across longer promotions now offered by retailers In-store traffic has dwindled over the years Initial figures from RetailNext which measures real-time foot traffic in physical stores revealed that U S Black Friday traffic fell compared to Still the firm noted that was notably better than a sharper decline it saw in the days leading up to Thanksgiving Sensormatic Solutions which also tracks store traffic revealed that in-store retail visits dipped but mentioned that was in line with expectations and trends already seen this year Traffic over the week of Black Friday was up nearly compared to the week prior per Sensormatic Black Friday has really turned into like a full week event or even further explained Grant Gustafson head of retail consulting and analytics at Sensormatic Solutions 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 specific of the busiest in terms of in-store traffic Meanwhile in terms of e-commerce Adobe expects U S shoppers to spend another billion Saturday and billion on Sunday before reaching an estimated billion peak on Cyber Monday which would mark yet another record Still rising prices could be contributing to chosen of those numbers U S President Donald Trump s barrage of tariffs on foreign imports have strained businesses and households alike over the last year And despite spending more overall Salesforce revealed U S shoppers purchased fewer items at checkout on Black Friday down from last year Order volumes also slipped the firm noted as average selling prices climbed This year s holiday spending rush arrives amid heightened economic uncertainty for consumers Beyond tariffs workers across residents and private sectors are also struggling with anxieties over job safeguard amid both corporate layoffs and the after-effects of the -day ruling body shutdown An uptick in budget-conscious behavior can also be seen in store traffic While Sensormatic doesn t track spending we do track consumer footsteps Gustafson notes and consumers are thinking a little bit harder about their purchases this year he explains to make sure that they re getting their very best deals For the November-December holiday season overall the National Retail Federation estimates U S shoppers will spend more than trillion for the first time this year But the rate of enhancement is slowing with an anticipated increase of to year over year compared to in s holiday season At the same time credit card debt and delinquencies on other short-term loans have been rising And more and more shoppers are turning to buy now pay later plans which allows them to delay payments on holiday decor gifts and other items