Black Friday, Cyber Monday spending expected to top records
And more consumers are using AI to help with their holiday shopping.

This Cyber Monday, shoppers are expected to be out — or online, rather — in full force. And it’s already been a relatively brisk start to the holiday shopping season.
Consumer spending broke records on Black Friday, coming in at more than $11 billion, or more than 9% over last year, according to Adobe. Shoppers were enticed by bargains and bought TVs, computers, clothes, furniture, and toys. Estimates were strong for Small Business Saturday, too.
More cash-strapped consumers are using buy now, pay later. Adobe said these sales are almost 9% higher than this time last year.
“What we know is that online sales were pretty strong. It does seem like in-store sales were pretty sluggish, and overall, we got moderate year-on-year gains,” said Julia Coronado, founder and president of MacroPolicy Perspectives. “You have to keep in mind, part of that increase reflects higher prices. So I think overall, it looks like not a disaster, but not a boom either.”
As for the Cyber Week ahead, it’s expected to be another big one. Salesforce expects sales to hit all-time highs, reaching $78 billion in the U.S. That would translate to a 3% increase over last year.
And one of the biggest shopping trends this season? It’s not Labubus or quarter zips, but AI, which consumers are increasingly turning to help with shopping.
Adobe Analytics says traffic to retail websites that originated from AI tools like chatbots was up 805% compared to last year, and those visits were much more likely to convert to an actual sale. About one-fifth of global sales will be influenced by artificial intelligence this week, according to Salesforce.
This spending is taking place despite wavering consumer sentiment and record credit card debt. Things could still change, though. There’s still time before gifts are opened (or probably even wrapped, for that matter), and there’s no guarantee that consumer spending will keep chugging along apace, Coronado said.
But generally, Americans are spend-happy. And despite this being a labor market on ice, “as long as consumers have jobs, they will do some Christmas shopping,” Coronado added.


