Black Friday, holiday shopping season off to a strong start

Deep discounts in several gift categories driving record consumer spending online

US retailers will have a ‘jolly and happy’ holiday season: Matt Shay

National Retail Federation CEO Matt Shay dissects consumer spending and the retail industry as shoppers hit stores across the country for Black Friday.

Americans might be feeling the squeeze from inflation, but that apparently is not stopping them from opening their wallets as the 2023 holiday shopping season ramps up.

Data from Adobe Analytics indicates the season is off to a strong start, showing that steep discounts in categories such as electronics and toys have driven record consumer spending online since Nov. 1, despite a challenging microenvironment.

An estimated 182 million people are planning to shop from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday, the most since 2017, according to the National Retail Federation. (Matthew Hatcher/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

In advance of Cyber Week, which is the five days from Thanksgiving Day to the following Cyber Monday, consumers spent $63.2 billion online, a 5% year-over-year increase for the same period in 2022. Those figures were released prior to the sharp discounts consumers expect to take advantage of on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

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Adobe Analytics reported Black Friday was set to have the greatest discounts on televisions, while the best bargains for toys and apparel will be offered this Sunday. The best deals for electronics and furniture are expected on Cyber Monday.

Clothing was the top category of purchases made from Shopify merchants on Thanksgiving Day and into Black Friday. (Matthew Hatcher/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

So far, the hottest items this season have included card games, Roblox toys, Squishmallows, Barbie dolls and Legos. The top-selling game consoles have been the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5, while the top-selling video games were “Super Mario Bros. Wonder” and “Spiderman 2.”

On Friday afternoon, Shopify released its first look at U.S. shopping data from its merchants during the major shopping day.

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The findings show the average cart price for Black Friday midday was $118.70, and Thanksgiving Day had an average cart price of $119.30. The top five categories of orders for both days were clothing, personal care, jewelry, shoes and decor.

Adobe Analytics data shows consumer spending so far this holiday season is outpacing that of last year. (Matthew Hatcher/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Shopify said 78% of sales were placed from a mobile device, while 22% of orders were made on a desktop computer.

Since Black Friday last year, point-of-sale sales made by Shopify retailers in the U.S. have grown by 33%, the company said.