ANKARA – Online sales in the United States are expected to hit record high levels on Black Friday and Cyber Monday this year despite high inflation, according to data compiled by Anadolu Agency.
Black Friday – the day after Thanksgiving – which marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping season, witnesses thousands of stores across the US offering discount prices every year.
This season, however, is different as the world is mired in supply chain constraints and record high inflation.
Despite the supply bottlenecks and US consumer prices reaching their highest level in 31 years, even more shopping is expected to take place this season, especially via the internet.
American consumers are estimated to spend between US$5.1 billion (RM21.63 billion) and US$5.9 billion online just on Thanksgiving Day alone, according to Adobe Digital Insights (ADI), a digital market research agency.
On Black Friday, online sales are forecast to hit a record high of US$9.5 billion.
Cyber Monday, which started in 2005 to encourage consumers to shop on the internet, is forecast to rack up US$11.3 billion in a single day, ADI data showed.
The Thanksgiving shopping spree from yesterday till today is anticipated to increase 10% overall, compared with last year.
Anadolu Agency noted video games and consoles, toys, and books are the top goods that consumers seek, but they have already seen supply shortages despite Americans shopping earlier this year for the holiday season.
Despite the head start, almost half of American consumers have faced supply chain issues, according to Morning Consult.
The data intelligence firm revealed that 74% of consumers who had out-of-stock issues on the internet headed to physical retailers.
Online shoppers viewed more than two billion out-of-stock messages just during the month of October, which was double the same period last year, ADI data stated.
Electronics, jewellery, apparel, and home and garden items were some of the top items that faced shortages.
Yet, Black Friday – which typically showcases sidewalk sleeping and large crowds rushing to stores at dawn – is becoming an online-first shopping day in recent years.
Almost 80% of American consumers are expected to find deals online, with Generation Z and millennials doing most of the shopping, according to Morning Consult.
Nearly two million more individuals, compared with last year, are expected to shop from Thanksgiving Day till Cyber Monday, the National Retail Federation (NRF) said – with an estimated 158.3 million expected to shop during Thanksgiving weekend.
While 30.6 million individuals plan to shop in-store or online on Thanksgiving Day, 108 million are expected to do so on Black Friday.
Small Business Saturday and this Sunday are forecast to have 58.1 million and 31.2 million shoppers respectively, it added.
Additionally, 62.8 million consumers are estimated for Cyber Monday, said NRF.
ADI estimates total online sales during the holiday season – from the beginning of November till New Year’s – to surpass the US$200 billion mark for the first time in history to reach US$207 billion.
The record amount, if realised, would be a 10% increase from the same period last year, it said. – Bernama, November 26, 2021
