Record-breaking Black Friday goes digital as holiday shopping embraces online convenience; Cyber Monday sales skyrocket

The future of holiday shopping is online! This year's digital sales forecasts for Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday hit record achievements.

Shopping mania is at an all-time high during the 2024 holiday season, with Adobe forecasting Cyber Monday’s record-high peak will surpass Black Friday to become the biggest shopping day of the year. However, the traditional dash-and-hit-the-market scene has substantially settled down, making way for the ease of online shopping.

Packages to be sorted on a conveyer belt at an Amazon Fulfillment center on Cyber Monday in Robbinsville, New Jersey, US, on Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. Over the past weekend, US buyers spent a record $10.9 billion online, according to data from Adobe, and the company expects consumers to splurge another $13.2 billion on Cyber Monday.(Bloomberg / Bing Guan)

According to Adobe Analytics data (ADBE), online sales recorded an all-time high milestone at $10.8 million, marking a 10.2% increases compared to last year’s numbers. The firm’s estimations rely reflect over 1 trillions visits to US retails websites, covering 100 million products spanning 18 categories.

Black Friday sales surpass expectations – on the digital front

All in all, there has been a dramatic growth of Black Friday digital sales in the past five years. The rising numbers aren’t merely attributed to higher spending but also to shopping preferences, with convenience as the prime priority for shoppers. Seeking out best deals, customers are opting for smarter and faster options, in turn, resulting in retailers like Amazon, Walmart and Target branching out online availability and accessibility, expanding choices with discounted deals.

Adobe’s lead analyst Vivek Pandya highlighted how big of an e-commerce milestone it was for Black Friday to unlock the $10 billion mark and fly beyond. Despite the shopping holiday previously being “anchored by in-store shopping,” Pandy noted that “with mobile, AI, and chatbots reshaping consumer behaviour, we expect online sales to continue growing in the years ahead.”

Massive holiday shopping period sales to reach new peak with Cyber Monday

With Black Friday already having cracked a landmark achievement, Cyber Monday is projected to shoot past the figures and earning its title as the biggest shopping day of the year, recording $13.2 billion in online sales. This jump celebrates a 6.1% rise from 2023.

Additionally, Adobe also predicted that the cumulative shopping season formula of Thanksgiving + Black Friday + Cyber Monday would bring in $40.6 billion in sales, making up for nearly 17% of holiday sales in general. The surge also had the “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) trend to thank, which as per QZ.com, made for the substantial chunk of $686 million of online sales for Black Friday.

Consumers particularly eyed toys this year, pushing for a 622% increase in online toy sales from October averages. Jewelry, appliances, personal care, electronics and apparel also contributed to the soaring figures, with items like PlayStation 5 consoles, Bluetooth speakers, Harry Potter Lego set, skincare packages and smartwatches emerging as highly coveted checklist desires.