Americans Spent $13.3 Billion Online on Monday After Black Friday
By Aishwarya Venugopal and Arriana McLymore, Reuters
Americans spent $13.3 billion online on Monday, a 7.3% increase from last year, according to a report by Adobe. Despite lackluster demand at U.S. stores on Black Friday, consumers took advantage of steep holiday discounts on electronics, toys, and other products.
Retailers have been using various tactics to encourage online shopping on Cyber Monday, including push notifications, emails, and social media ads. This year, the discounts have been deeper, with shoppers waiting for promotion-heavy days. For example, Target offered 50% off thousands of items, including video games, home decor, and technology products, in a “two-day Cyber Monday” sale that began on Sunday.
The spending surge online comes as sales at brick-and-mortar stores on Black Friday grew just 0.7% year over year, according to preliminary estimates by Mastercard. Online retailers such as Walmart and Amazon have been using generative AI customer service and search features to make it easier for shoppers to find products on their websites and mobile apps.
For some consumers, these tools have been helpful in navigating the holiday shopping season. For example, Pittsburgh resident Cheyenne Berens has been using Amazon’s generative AI chatbot Rufus to track prices of baby merchandise and electronics. “I have found that using Rufus on Amazon has been extremely helpful in determining whether a ‘deal’ is actually a ‘deal,'” she said.
Using these tools, retailers have seen a significant increase in sales. According to Salesforce, retailers using generative AI for customer service saw a 15% higher purchase rate from users on Saturday. This is a significant increase, with Adobe estimating that U.S. consumer spending online could reach between $13.2 billion and $13.5 billion on Monday.