Black Friday sales in the U.S. revealed contrasting trends between in-store and online shopping, highlighting consumers' preference for digital platforms.

While brick-and-mortar stores saw muted growth of just 0.7% year-over-year, online sales surged by 14.6%, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse data. The figures underscore the growing dominance of e-commerce in the holiday shopping season, Reuters reports.

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Adobe Inc. noted a substantial increase in online spending, with Americans shelling out $10.8 billion on Friday, a 10.2% rise from last year. Generative AI chatbots, designed to enhance shopper interactions, fueled a 1,800% surge in retail website visits compared to the previous year, according to a report by Barron's.

Top-selling items included makeup, Bluetooth speakers, and espresso machines, reflecting diverse consumer preferences.

Salesforce analyzed data from over 1.5 billion global shoppers and reported a 7% uptick in U.S. online sales, reaching $17.5 billion. Home appliances and furniture emerged as popular categories among digital buyers.

Physical retail locations struggled to keep pace, with Facteus reporting a 5.4% drop in-store sales. This decline deepens to 8% when adjusted for inflation, indicating a challenging environment for traditional retailers.

Big-box stores like Target Corp (NYSE:TGT) and Best Buy Co Inc (NYSE:BBY) experienced flat year-over-year sales on Black Friday, emphasizing the shift toward digital channels.

Retail behemoths such as Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) benefitted from strong online demand. Walmart's focus on integrating store-to-home delivery for its e-commerce customers has helped capture this growing market segment. Emerging platforms like TikTok Shop and PDD Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PDD) Temu also demonstrated robust sales growth during the holiday period.

Amazon has prioritized Black Friday over Cyber Monday for the second consecutive year, a shift Deepwater Asset Management's Gene Munster says yields strong results. This strategy aligns with Amazon's history of creating unique sales events, such as Prime Day.

Deepwater Asset Management's Gene Munster highlights the retail sector's growth, with Amazon's paid units rising from 8% in December 2022 to 12% in September 2024. He estimates retail operating margins have improved from -3% two years ago to 5% last quarter and predicts further gains to 7% in 2025, potentially lifting EPS to $7.15.

Amazon announced it will hire 250,000 U.S. workers for the holiday season, reflecting retail's increased demand for seasonal staff. Target also revealed plans to add 100,000 temporary employees. In 2023, Amazon's U.S. Cyber Monday sales hit $12.4 billion, a 9.6% increase that exceeded the $12 billion forecast. Total online sales during Cyber Week reached $38 billion, surpassing the $37.2 billion estimate.

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