Thanksgiving Day 2018 internet sales in the United States hit a new high of $5.29 billion, breaking the previous record established in 2017.
In comparison to the same day a year ago, Thursday’s total was 2.9% higher. The average daily online shopping haul is between $2 billion and $3 billion, as reported by Adobe.
The percentage of online sales attributed to mobile shopping (i.e., purchases done via smartphones) reached a new high on Thanksgiving Day, surpassing the previous high set in 2012.
Adobe’s chief analyst Vivek Pandya told CNBC that demand was responsible for the rise, as people ignored the historically high rates of inflation.
Since e-commerce is primarily made up of electronics, clothing, and other durables that have kept stable in price or declined compared to groceries, he argues that online sales have not been driven higher by inflation like retail sales.
The main concern was whether the depth of reductions would be enough to keep demand strong and consistent, on pace with what we saw last year, in light of the financial challenges and background coming into the season for consumers.
In other words, “what we’re finding is that discounts are significant enough to attract consumers to keep spending.”
Adobe predicts more brighter futures ahead.
With $9 billion in sales anticipated for Black Friday and an additional $11.2 billion for Cyber Monday, it’s clear that these two shopping days are hugely lucrative for retailers.
Squishmallows, Roblox, Paw Patrol, Hot Wheels, Cocomelon, and L.O.L. Surprise Dolls are among the best-selling toys this year.
The Nintendo Switch, the Xbox One X, and the PlayStation 5 are the best-selling game systems thus far.