You’ve finished the turkey, now it’s time to shop: Here’s when the best deals go online
If consumers have been worried about the U.S. economy, their online shopping habits ahead of the holidays show plenty of spending happening anyway.
Latest figures from Adobe Analytics report that shoppers between Nov. 1-24 had spent $77.4 billion online, up 9.6% year-over-year. That’s also above Adobe’s full season forecast of 8.4% year-over-year growth.
“Between April 2019 and August 2024 ... the share-of-units-sold for the most expensive goods online decreased by 47%, as consumers embraced cheaper goods,” according to Adobe. “This trend reversed in the first 24 days of the holiday season: The share of the most expensive goods increased by 15.1% compared to pre-season figures.”
Adobe said high-ticket items in demand included bigger TVs and more advanced washing machines.
Shoppers so far in November have spent the most on electronics ($17.7 billion, up 11.4% from 2023), but the two categories showing the biggest year-over-year increase have been apparel (up 13.4%) and grocery (up 16.8%).
The analysis covers more than 1 trillion visits to U.S. retail sites, 100 million SKUs and 18 product categories.
The top sellers by category so far, according to Adobe:
▪ Toys: LEGO Harry Potter, Pokémon trading cards, X Shot Insanity foam dart toy, Tonie Audio Play Figurines, Miles Morales (Spiderman) figurines and play sets, doll sets and slime-making kits.
▪ Gaming consoles: Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch OLED
▪ Games: Animal Crossing New Horizons, Super Mario 3D World and Super Mario Odyssey
▪ Other top selling items: Dyson Airwrap Limited Edition in Strawberry Bronze, Bluetooth speakers, fitness trackers, smart watches, pickle ball paddles and skincare sets.
When will the biggest deals come online
While some online retailers, such as Amazon, have been promoting Black Friday discounts, Adobe’s analysis predicts that the biggest sales are still to come.
Here’s what’s expected among the biggest online deals and when:
▪ Thanksgiving: For toys, you might want to take a break from the turkey and go online with toy discounts expected to hit 27% on Thanksgiving. That day also likely will see the biggest sales on appliances at 18% off, furniture at 19% off and sporting goods at 20% off.
▪ Black Friday: That day is set to see the biggest discounts so far this season on TVs (24% off).
▪ Saturday (Nov. 30): That day is expected to see deals on computers at 23% off.
▪ Cyber Monday (Dec. 2): Adobe forecasts that electronics discounts are expected to hit 30% off listed price that day; that day also will be good to score sales on apparel (23%).
Embracing bots and small-screen shopping
In a survey of 5,000 U.S. consumers in September, Adobe found that 7 in 10 respondents who have used generative AI for shopping “believe it enhances their experience, and 2 in 5 plan to use it for the holidays.”
More people also are shopping on their phones vs. laptop or desktop computer. According to Adobe, “In the first 24 days of November, 51.6% of online spend (up from 49.5% in the comparable period last year) happened through a mobile device.”
More on Adobe Analytics shopping report at its website.
