Consumers Spend a Record $5.29B Online on Thanksgiving Day

Consumers spent a record $5.29 billion on Thanksgiving Day, per Adobe Analytics data, up 2.9 percent year-over-year (YoY). Shoppers were enticed by big discounts in categories like toys and electronics, and took to their smartphones during holiday meals. Mobile shopping drove 55 percent of online sales (up 8.3 percent YoY), an all-time record for Thanksgiving Day since 2012.

In the first 24 days of November, consumers have spent $77.74 billion online. Black Friday is expected to generate $9 billion in e-commerce sales, up modestly at 1 percent YoY. With COVID-19 anxieties subsiding, Adobe expects more consumers will embrace in-store shopping on Black Friday.

“Mobile shopping had struggled to grow for many years, as consumers found the experience lacking compared to desktop,” said Vivek Pandya, lead analyst, Adobe Digital Insights. “Thanksgiving this year has become an inflection point, where smartphones drove real growth and highlights how much these experiences have improved.”