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AI helps drive record $11.8 billion in Black Friday online buys
Hindustan Times Delhi
|December 01, 2025
AI-powered shopping tools helped drive a surge in US online spending on Black Friday, as shoppers bypassed crowded stores and turned to chatbots to compare prices and secure discounts amid concerns about tariff-driven price hikes.
US shoppers spent a record $11.8 billion online, up 9.1% from 2024 on the year's biggest shopping day, according to Adobe Analytics, which tracks 1 trillion visits that shoppers make to online retail websites.
The holiday shopping season arrives amid tighter budgets, unemployment nearing a four-year high, US consumer confidence sagging to a seven-month low and price tags that have shoppers watching every dollar.
Online shopping demand increased as consumers showed savviness in the holiday season, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse, which noted a 10.4% growth in e-commerce sales on Black Friday, compared to an in-store sales growth of 1.7% in 2024.
The AI-driven traffic to US retail sites soared 805% compared to last year, Adobe said, when artificial intelligence tools such as Walmart’s Sparky or Amazon's Rufus had not yet been launched.
This story is from the December 01, 2025 edition of Hindustan Times Delhi.
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