US Black Friday online sales hit record $11.8 billion, says report

American shoppers spent a record $II.8 billion online on Black Friday, up 9.18 from last year, final data from Adobe Analytics showed.

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Adobe Analytics, which tracks over I trillion US retail site visits, expects shoppers to spend $5.5 billion on Saturday and $5.9 billion on Sunday, up 3.88 and 5.48 from a year earlier respectively.

Separately, software firm Salesforce reported that American consumers had spent $18 billion on Black Friday purchases, up 38 from a year ago, with luxury apparel and accessories among the most popular categories. Although US consumers spent more this Black Friday compared to last year, price increases hampered online demand, according to Salesforce, with shoppers purchasing fewer items at checkout compared to last year.

At physical stores, the bargain-chasing was relatively subdued on post-Thanksgiving morning, with some shoppers saying they feared overspending amid persistent inflation, trade policy-driven uncertainty, and a soft labour market. Cyber Monday, traditionally a big day for online deals, is expected to be the season's biggest online shopping day again, Adobe projects, driving $14.2 billion in spending, up 6.38 from last year.

Separately, the economic picture hasn't looked very rosy: Hiring has been sluggish. Consumers have been dealing with soaring meat prices. Layoffs are rippling through companies. But despite those concerns, shoppers hit the stores in full strength on Black Friday, with some even sipping champagne as they searched for discounts on the day that traditionally kicks off the holiday shopping season.