By Gary Symons
TLL Editor in Chief
Online shoppers thumbed their noses at inflation and a looming recession, setting a new record for online Black Friday spending.
Figures from Adobe Analytics showed US consumers spent a record $9.12 billion while online shopping Friday, an increase of 2.3% over last year, and surpassing the previous online Black Friday record of $9.03 billion.
Adobe Analytics, which tracks more than 85% of the top 100 U.S. online retailers, revealed that nearly half (48%) of online sales were made over smartphones, up from 44% last year, according to the company’s 2022 Holiday Shopping Trends & Insights Report.
The figures also underscore an important new trend for retailers, as more shoppers have taken advantage of “buy now pay later” services, with orders Nov. 19-25 up 78% compared to the previous week, the report said.
“As Black Friday hit record spending online, we’re also seeing more prominent signs of a budget-conscious consumer this year,” said Vivek Pandya, lead analyst for Adobe Digital Insights, in a statement. “Shoppers are embracing the Buy Now Pay Later payment method more this year to be able to buy desired gifts for family and friends.”
As TLL reported last week, the research group NPD was predicting consumers would pull back slightly on their Christmas shopping this year, although they also indicated more people would do their gift shopping early, and particularly around the Black Friday period.
For that reason, most forecasters believe retail spending through the holiday season will either decline slightly from 2021, or at most, see a very slight increase based mainly on increased prices due to inflation.
The National Retail Federation paints a somewhat rosier picture than NPD, as it expects holiday sales to be up 6%-8% this year, compared to 13.5% a year ago, totaling $942.6 billion to $960.4 billion. But those estimates aren’t adjusted for inflation so spending could even be down, the group said.
Adobe Analytics expects total holiday online sales (from Nov. 1-Dec. 31) to be up 2.5%, a jump less than last year’s 8.6% increase.
Cyber Monday is forecast to be the year’s biggest online shopping day, with Adobe Analytics expecting sales of $11.2 billion, up 5.1% over last year.
Those figures would appear to lend credence to slightly increased spending over the 2022 holiday season.
Christmas Retail: Black Friday Shoppers Down Slightly From 2020