LONDON: 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 US$11.8 billion online, up 9.1 per cent from 2024 on the year’s biggest shopping day, according to Adobe Analytics, which tracks one trillion visits 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 strengthened as consumers showed greater savviness this holiday season, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse, which reported a 10.4 per cent increase in e-commerce sales on Black Friday, compared with in-store sales growth of 1.7 per cent in 2024.
AI-driven traffic to US retail sites surged 805 per cent compared to last year, Adobe said, when tools such as Walmart’s Sparky or Amazon’s Rufus had not yet been launched.
“Consumers are using new tools to get to what they need faster,” said Suzy Davidkhanian, an analyst at eMarketer. “Gift giving can be stressful, and LLMs make the discovery process feel quicker and more guided.”
Hot sellers on Black Friday included LEGO sets, Pokémon cards, gaming consoles like the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5, and products ranging from Apple AirPods to KitchenAid mixers.
AI AGENTS INFLUENCED US$14.2 BILLION IN ONLINE SALES GLOBALLY
Globally, AI and agents influenced US$14.2 billion in online sales on Black Friday, with US$3 billion coming from the US alone, according to software firm Salesforce.
Salesforce, whose data includes non-discretionary items like groceries, reported that US consumers spent US$18 billion online on Black Friday purchases, up 3 per cent from a year ago, with luxury apparel and accessories among the most popular categories.
Although US consumers spent more this Black Friday, price increases weighed on online demand, Salesforce said, with shoppers purchasing fewer items per checkout than last year.
Discount rates remained flat compared to 2024. AI helped shoppers discover deals, but higher product costs made deeper markdowns difficult for retailers.
Promotions may feel less compelling due to inflation and tariffs pushing up costs, Davidkhanian said, making the final price less attractive.
The combination of higher prices and flat discounts means the real value of Black Friday bargains has slipped for consumers, said Michael Ashley Schulman, Chief Investment Officer at Running Point.
Order volumes fell 1 per cent as average selling prices rose 7 per cent. Consumers also bought fewer items at checkout, with units per transaction declining 2 per cent year-on-year, Salesforce said.
“There are two things driving up the average selling price in the United States,” said Caila Schwartz, director of consumer insights at Salesforce. “The first is the impact of tariffs, especially in discretionary categories where selling prices have surged. The other is that we’re seeing a much stronger higher-income earner than average-income earner, evidenced by the strength in the luxury category.”
The spending surge sets the stage for an even bigger Cyber Monday, projected to generate US$14.2 billion in sales, up 6.3 per cent year-on-year and the largest online shopping day of the year, Adobe said. Electronics are expected to see the deepest discounts on Cyber Monday, reaching 30 per cent off list prices, alongside strong deals on apparel and computers, Adobe said.
At physical stores, however, bargain-hunting was relatively subdued on Black Friday, with some shoppers saying they feared overspending amid persistent inflation, trade-driven uncertainty and a soft labour market.
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