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Agencies

Shoppers across the United States splashed out US$7.4 billion online during the Black Friday post-Thanksgiving buying bonanza, according to Adobe Analytics, hurting traffic and sales at bricks-and-mortar stores.
The spending marks an all-time record for Black Friday online purchases in the US. It also makes it the second-largest online sales day ever in the country, falling only slightly short of last year’s Cyber Monday, during which consumers spent US$500 million more, Adobe’s data shows.
Black Friday internet sales were up about 20 per cent from last year, according to Adobe, which measures transactions at 80 of the top 100 US online retailers.
Top selling items included “LOL Surprise” dolls, merchandise from the film Frozen 2, the game Fifa 20 and a Nintendo gaming console.
The most popular electronics were Apple laptops, AirPods and Samsung TVs.

US President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” merchandise was being once again discounted on the US president’s political website at 35 per cent off.
“With Christmas now rapidly approaching, consumers increasingly jumped on their phones rather than standing in line,” said Taylor Schreiner, principal analyst and head of Adobe Digital Insights.
The analytics company predicts another record to be slashed this Cyber Monday, when it says consumers will drop US$9.4 billion. The National Retail Federation expects 69 million US shoppers to take advantage of online bargains on Monday.
The best Black Friday gift imaginable? Jewellery owned by Prince – a ‘love symbol’ pendant at US$58,500 and Versace bracelets for US$12,500
The crowds that traditionally descended on shopping malls on Black Friday are shrinking as people choose to peruse bargains on their mobile phones and desktops.
Friday’s surge in internet shopping was matched by a 6.2 per cent drop in sales in bricks-and-mortar stores, according to initial data from ShopperTrak cited in a CNBC report.
Adobe expects sales on Small Business Saturday, on which people support small local stores, to reach around US$3.6 billion.
Online sales for the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday hit a record US$4.4 billion, 20 per cent more than last year, according to estimates from Adobe. Nearly half of those purchases came from mobile devices.


Brian Field, senior director of global retail consulting for ShopperTrak, said the traditional pattern of shoppers visiting stores has been disrupted not only by online shopping but by offerings like “buy online and pick up in store”, a growing category, which is not included in store traffic count on Black Friday.
“What all of this really boils down to is the customer journey has changed, now it can start anywhere online, in-store and end anywhere … and it is about making sure the customer makes the purchase and stays loyal to the brands more than where it happens,” he said.
Five ways Black Friday and Cyber Monday differ from Singles' Day
Preliminary data from analytics firm RetailNext showed net sales at bricks-and-mortar stores on Black Friday fell 1.6 per cent, which the firm said is slower than in previous years. No data was yet available for actual spending in stores.
The National Retail Federation had forecast US holiday retail sales over the two months in 2019 will increase between 3.8 per cent and 4.2 cent from a year ago, for a total of US$727.9 billion to US$730.7 billion.
That compares with an average annual increase of 3.7 per cent over the past five years.
Friday’s sales prompted copycat versions throughout Europe, an effort that has generated no small amount of friction.
This year’s events prompted protest in parts of France, Germany and the Netherlands that included environmentalist rallies outside Amazon distribution centers and human chains blocking malls
DPA, Agence France-Presse and Reuters

For more insights into China tech, sign up for our tech newsletters, subscribe to our award-winning Inside China Tech podcast, and download the comprehensive 2019 China Internet Report. Also roam China Tech City, an award-winning interactive digital map at our sister site Abacus.



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Retailing

US Black Friday shoppers spend record US$7.4 billion online – and Cyber Monday could be bigger

Black Friday hit a record US$7.4 billion in US online sales as many shoppers spent the day clicking instead of lining up to buy. Photo: TNS

Shoppers carry televisions purchased from a store during Black Friday sales in Los Angeles on November 29, 2019. - Black Friday is a sales offer on the Friday following Thanksgiving Day which has become a major shopping day in the United States. (Photo by Mark RALSTON / AFP)

The best Black Friday gift imaginable? Jewellery owned by Prince – a ‘love symbol’ pendant at US$58,500 and Versace bracelets for US$12,500

Five pieces of jewellery owned by Prince – including two bespoke ‘love symbol’ pendants worn onstage – are now on sale at New Orleans’ M.S. Rau Antiques. Prince. Photo: Instagram/handout

PRINCE’S ONYX CRESCENT MOON PENDANT

PRINCE’S LOVE SYMBOL NECKLACE

PRINCE’S SILVER MEDUSA BRACELET BY VERSACE

PRINCE’S GOLDEN BRACELET BY UGO CORREANI FOR VERSACE

PRINCE’S AMETHYST LOVE SYMBOL PENDANT

Five ways Black Friday and Cyber Monday differ from Singles' Day

This picture taken on November 10, 2016 shows Chinese actress and singer Li Yuchun (2nd R) performing during the 2016 Tmall 11:11 Global Shopping Festival gala in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong province. - Chinese shoppers spent more than 1 billion USD in the first five minutes of Singles Day on November 11, e-commerce giant Alibaba said in the world's biggest online shopping promotion. (Photo by STR / AFP) / China OUT

A shopper takes advantage of the Black Friday sales the day after Thanksgiving in New York City November 24,2017. - The Christmas shopping season kicks into high gear on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, with bricks and mortar retailers using innovative methods to attract customers in the face of exploding e-commerce. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP)

C8WK34 Application centre of Alipay ,  China's leading third-party online payment solution.

Workers prepare packages for delivery at a sorting center in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province during the Singles Day online shopping festival on November 11, 2016. - Chinese shoppers unleashed a record deluge of cash online for Singles Day on November 11, Alibaba said, spending RMB 120.7 billion (USD17.8 billion) with the e-commerce giant in the world's biggest online shopping promotion. (Photo by STR / AFP) / China OUT

Staff pose for photos in front of a screen at a gala event in Shanghai showing total sales of over 168 billion yuan on Singles’ Day 2017. Photo: AFP

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Top selling items included ‘LOL Surprise’ dolls, Apple AirPods and Samsung TVs
Adobe Analytics estimates Cyber Monday will see a record US$9.4 billion in sales



US consumers aren’t buying Black Friday the way they once did: they’re shopping on their phones.


E-commerce

United States

US Black Friday shoppers spend record US$7.4 billion online – and Cyber Monday could be bigger

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Top selling items included ‘LOL Surprise’ dolls, Apple AirPods and Samsung TVs Adobe Analytics estimates Cyber Monday will see a record US$9.4 billion in sales

Top selling items included ‘LOL Surprise’ dolls, Apple AirPods and Samsung TVs

Adobe Analytics estimates Cyber Monday will see a record US$9.4 billion in sales