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For the first time, most Thanksgiving online purchases were made on smartphones

It seems the Black Friday sales got off to an early start yesterday, Adobe Analytics data showing a record online spend yesterday of $1.75B as of 5pm, a pattern expected to see yesterday’s total online spend hit $3.7B once all the data is processed.

Check out the 9to5Toys deals hub for the best Black Friday promotions spanning all retailers, which will easily beat Apple’s first-hand sales with real discounts and savings on the latest iPhones, Macs, iPads and more …

Thanksgiving is currently on track to be one of the fastest growing retail days in online shopping history. Based on Adobe Analytics data, we’ve seen $1.75 billion in online spend (as of 5 p.m. ET) on Thanksgiving Day, representing 28.6% growth YoY. Based on today’s strong growth rate, we now expect Thanksgiving Day to reach a record $3.7 billion in online retail sales, up 29% from 2017. We expect $38.0 billion will have been spent online between 11/1 and 11/22, a 18.6% growth YoY. All 21 days in November drove over $1 billion, with 2 days bringing in more than $2 billion each.

Black Friday iPhone purchasing

Another record was the percentage of people using their smartphones to make purchases. For the first time, the majority of Thanksgiving online buying was done on a phone – 54.4%, compared to last year’s 46.1%. We know from previous reports that more holiday purchasing is made on iPhone than any other device.

However, the more expensive purchases were still made from laptops and desktops, so they still accounted for the most revenue.

The share of traffic from desktop and tablets declined YoY (desktop at 36.5% vs. 44.3% in 2017; tablet at 9.1% vs. 9.6% in 2017). Specific to revenue, smartphones saw a 36.7% share (desktop 52.8%, tablets 10.5%) of sales, on track for a record weekday figure (vs. 29.1% in 2017). While mobile remains strong, retailers have missed out on $4.3 billion in potential revenue from smartphones this season due to cart abandonment.

In terms of Black Friday discounts, Adobe says the best deals are likely to be found on computers and tablets.

We’re seeing average savings of 16.3% for computers, 4.7% for televisions and 12.2% for toys. Black Friday is expected to have the steepest discounts on average on computers (16%) and tablets (33%). The day before Cyber Monday (11/25) will see the best deals for apparel (22%), appliances (18%) and jewelry (5%), while the biggest discounts for toys will happen Cyber Monday (19%).

The company is expecting to see today’s online sales hit $5.9B, while Cyber Monday will be even higher at $7.8B.

If you’re interested in seeing how those predictions pan out, you can see real-time data here. And if it’s bargains you’re after, check out our Black Friday Deal Hub.

Photo: Shutterstock


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Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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