"Star Daily" December 2nd News With the reinforcement of AI chatbots, this year's "Black Friday" in the United States "sold out" on online retail websites.

Data shows that on "Black Friday" (local time November 29th), from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the average online consumption per minute by American shoppers reached a high of $11.3 million.

The total online sales on "Black Friday" reached $10.8 billion, setting a new record and surpassing the sales levels of brick-and-mortar stores during the same period.

The key factors for the surge in traffic and sales on retail websites are AI.

AI chatbots can simulate interactions between people and help users quickly find discounts, compare products, and complete purchases, greatly enhancing the shopping experience for consumers. According to Adobe Analytics statistics, compared to the previous year, AI chatbots increased traffic to retail websites by 1800%.

Salesforce data shows that during this year's "Black Friday," the usage of AI-driven online chat services increased by 31% year-on-year. Salesforce's Consumer Insights Director, Caila Schwartz, stated, "Compared to digital retailers that do not use generative AI and AI Agent technologies, those using these technologies have a conversion rate 9% higher."

In general, "Black Friday" marks the beginning of the peak sales season for year-end holidays in the United States.

Adobe Analytics predicts that during the 'Network Week' period consisting of Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday, the total online consumption will reach $40.6 billion, a 7% year-on-year increase.

▌OpenAI, Amazon, and Walmart have successively laid out in e-commerce, making AI commercialization a core track for monetization.

According to media reports, last year on 'Black Friday,' a consumer used a price comparison AI application to buy an iPad for his daughter, saving $50 successfully. This year, planning to buy a Barbie doll for his daughter, he plans to use multiple AI applications to compare prices, aiming to save 30%.

Indeed, before this 'trend,' American consumers who wanted to buy the most cost-effective discounted goods might have needed to queue outside Best Buy or Walmart hours before, waiting for the stores to open. Now, consumers have started using AI tools such as ChatGPT to complete their shopping.

Before this year's 'Black Friday,' a survey of 2000 consumers conducted by research institution Attest has already shown that 44% of potential 'Black Friday' consumers this year plan to use AI.

OpenAI, Perplexity AI, and many other AI companies have recently expanded their search and shopping functions, hoping to attract consumers. Perplexity AI revealed that search volume around 'Black Friday' and 'Cyber Monday' has significantly increased recently.

At the same time, retailers like Amazon and Walmart are also leveraging AI to simplify the way consumers shop and find discounts. 'I do think this heralds a trend for the future.' Walmart's Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey admitted in a recent interview that Walmart is committed to developing AI tools to optimize product searches.

Today, e-commerce has become a core track for the commercialization of AI, with rich application scenarios both on the e-commerce supply side (writing emails, optimizing listings, after-sales service, etc.) and on the demand side (recommendation systems, voice assistants, image search, etc.).

Found Securities pointed out that with the continuous iteration of AI technology at present, the continuous enrichment of related functions is expected to drive the penetration rate continuously higher. Platform-based enterprises with AI service capabilities are also expected to form new differentiated advantages through product stickiness, further consolidating their market share and achieving industry leadership.