AI helps drive record $11.8 billion in Black Friday online spending

By Chandni Shah and Siddharth Kaivale

Nov 29 (Reuters) – AI-powered shopping tools helped drive a surge in online spending in the US on Black Friday, as shoppers avoided crowded stores and turned to chatbots to compare prices and secure discounts amid concerns about tariff-driven price rises.

U.S. Shoppers spent a record $11.8 billion online on the biggest shopping day of the year, up 9.1% from 2024, according to Adobe Analytics, which tracks the 1 trillion visits made by shoppers to online retail websites.

The holiday shopping season comes amid tight budgets, unemployment near four-year highs, U.S. consumer confidence at a seven-month low and falling prices, leaving shoppers eyeing every dollar.

According to MasterCard SpendingPulse, consumers turned smart during the holiday season, driving demand for online shopping, which saw e-commerce sales increase by 10.4% on Black Friday, while in-store sales increased by 1.7% in 2024.

AI-powered traffic to U.S. retail sites increased 805% compared with last year, Adobe said, when artificial intelligence tools like Walmart’s Sparky or Amazon’s Rufus had not yet launched.

“Consumers are using new tools to get what they need, faster,” said eMarketer analyst Suzy Davidkhanian. “Gift giving can be stressful, and LLMs (large language models) make the search process feel faster and more directed.”

Hot sellers on Black Friday included Lego sets, Pokemon cards, gaming consoles like the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5, and products ranging from Apple AirPods to KitchenAid mixers.

AI agents influence $14.2 billion in online sales globally

Globally, AI and agents influenced $14.2 billion in online sales on Black Friday, according to software firm Salesforce, of which $3 billion came from the US alone.

Salesforce, whose data includes non-discretionary items like groceries, reported that U.S. consumers spent $18 billion online on Black Friday shopping, up 3% from a year ago, with the most popular categories including luxury apparel and accessories.

Although U.S. consumers spent more this Black Friday than last year, price increases hindered online demand as shoppers purchased fewer items at checkout than last year, according to Salesforce.

Discount rates also remained flat compared to 2024, AI helped shoppers find the best deals, and rising price tags made it difficult for retailers to offer deep discounts.

According to Davidkhanian, promotions and discounts may not be as sharp as last year due to higher product costs driven by inflation and tariffs, and the final price does not appear to be as attractive to buyers.

According to Michael Ashley Shulman, chief investment officer of Running Point, the combination of higher prices and flat discounts means the real value of Black Friday deals to consumers is diminished.

Order volume declined 1% as average selling price increased 7%. Consumers also purchased fewer items at checkout, with units per transaction declining 2% on a year-over-year basis, Salesforce said.

“There are two things driving up the average selling price in the United States,” said Kaila Schwartz, director of consumer insights at Salesforce.

He said, “The first is absolutely the impact of the tariffs, particularly on those discretionary categories where we have seen a lot of increase in selling price. The second is the fact that we are seeing people with higher incomes than the average income earner, evidenced by the strength in the luxury category.”

Adobe said the surge in spending sets the stage for an even bigger Cyber ​​Monday, which is expected to bring in $14.2 billion in sales, up 6.3% year-over-year and the biggest online shopping day of the year. Adobe said Cyber ​​Monday is expected to see the deepest discounts on electronics, reaching up to 30% off list prices, along with strong deals on apparel and computers.

However, at physical stores, bargains were relatively low on Black Friday, with some shoppers saying they were afraid to spend more amid persistent inflation, trade-driven uncertainty and a soft labor market.

(Reporting by Chandni Shah in Bengaluru and Siddharth Cavell in New York; Editing by Lisa Jucca, Paul Simao and Dianne Craft)