Consumers aren’t waiting for Cyber Monday sales to begin their holiday shopping.
On Black Friday, shoppers spent a record-breaking $7.4 billion, according to preliminary data published by Adobe Analytics, which measures transactions from 80 of the top 100 online retailers.
E-commerce behemoths were the biggest beneficiaries of the shopping holiday, scoring a 46 percent boost in sales this season, compared to an 18 percent increase for smaller retailers.
Overall, the National Retail Federation expects sales in November and December to hit up to $730.7 billion, a nearly 4.2 percent from 2018. On average, consumers expect to spend $1,047.83, including purchases made earlier, for an increase of 4 percent. The full holiday season is six days shorter than is typical, because Thanksgiving fell on the fourth Thursday in November, the last possible date it could be.
On Thanksgiving Day, consumers spent a whopping $4.2 billion online, a 14.5 percent from last year and a record high. This marks the first time that Thanksgiving shopping has surpassed $4 billion.
