Adobe: US online transactions on Black Friday in 2020 reached $9 billion

The COVID-19 pandemic is changing the way American consumers shop. According to estimates by Adobe Analytics, online transactions on Black Friday on the 27th hit a record high, up 22% from the same period last year.

[Online transaction volume surges]

Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving, marking the start of the Christmas shopping season. With the rise of online shopping, more consumers choose to place orders online during Black Friday, and this year's COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated this trend.

Adobe Analytics tracks online spending and estimates that online transactions in the United States on Black Friday this year reached $9 billion, breaking the previous record of $7.4 billion set on Black Friday last year, a year-on-year increase of 22%. Toys, headphones and TVs are hot sellers online.

This year, the online transaction volume of large and small retailers in the United States has increased significantly. According to data from Adobe Analytics, the online transaction volume of large retailers such as Walmart , the largest chain retailer in the United States, and Target, a daily groceries chain , increased by 403% during Black Friday compared with the daily average in October, while that of small retailers increased by 349%.

The analysis firm predicts that the record for online transaction volume in the United States may be refreshed on the 30th, with an estimated transaction volume of US$10.8 billion to US$12.7 billion.

In the view of Adobe Analytics, one of the reasons for the increase in online transaction volume on Black Friday is that the epidemic has caused people to shift their offline shopping to online, such as daily necessities and alcohol.

[Offline customer traffic drops sharply]

Data released by Johns Hopkins University in the United States on the 27th showed that the number of newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States exceeded 200,000 for the first time in a single day, and the cumulative number of confirmed cases exceeded 13 million.

Affected by the epidemic, major physical stores have limited the flow of customers during the "Black Friday" period, limiting the time for customers to shop on site and the scale of the door-to-door rush. According to data from the American-funded solutions company Foresight, during this year's "Black Friday", the flow of customers to physical stores in the United States decreased by 52%, and the sales of physical stores decreased accordingly.

Data released by the "Future Retail" data analysis company showed that in offline transactions on "Black Friday", sales of jewelry and footwear fell the most, apparel fell 50%, and home furnishings fell 39%.

Even so, Brian Field, senior director of global retail consulting at Foresight Solutions, believes that Black Friday may still be one of the largest offline shopping days in the U.S. this year. In his opinion, many consumers will still visit physical stores during the Christmas shopping season, but will avoid weekends with large crowds, because online shopping delivery time is usually longer and physical stores may offer greater discounts.