Black Friday online shopping this year set a new high, reaching $10.8 billion in sales, according to Adobe Analytics, which tracks U.S. e-commerce data. This marks a significant increase from 2017, when sales were just over $5 billion. The record pace of Black Friday buying followed record-setting online shopping on Thanksgiving itself.
Consumers spent a record $6.1 billion online on Turkey Day—up nearly 9% compared to the previous year, according to Adobe. Spending on toys was a major driver of online Black Friday sales, with overall toy sales up 622% compared to an average day earlier this fall. Sales of jewelry were up by 561%, appliances by 476%, apparel by 349%, and electronics by 334%.
Popular toys included Harry Potter LEGO sets, “Wicked” toys, card and board games, Disney Princess toys and dolls, and Cookeez Makery oven play sets.
Black Friday online shopping records
Gaming consoles such as the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch OLED, and Meta Quest were also in high demand.
Other hot sellers were makeup and skincare sets, Bluetooth speakers and headphones, smart watches, perfumes, and espresso machines. Increasingly, online shopping is happening on smaller screens. More than half of all online sales on Black Friday—about 55%—were made via mobile devices, according to Adobe.
Overall, people seemed keener to shop online than to hit the stores in person. In another analysis of Black Friday spending, MasterCard reported that online retail sales rose 14.6% compared to last year, while in-store sales only inched up 0.7%. Combined, overall retail sales—both online and in-store—were up 3.4% this year.
Online shopping continues to dominate the retail landscape, setting new records and shifting traditional shopping behaviors, especially during the holiday season.
