• Online Black Friday sales surged to a record $11.8 billion, a 9.1% year-over-year increase
  • AI-driven shopping traffic shows remarkable growth with 1,200% year-over-year increase in October and 16% higher conversion rates
  • Despite higher spending, consumers purchased fewer items due to persistent inflation concerns

U.S. online Black Friday sales reached a record $11.8 billion, representing a 9.1% year-over-year increase, according to data from Adobe Analytics. The measurement platform, which tracks over 1 trillion visits to U.S. retail sites, projects continued strong spending throughout the weekend with expectations of $5.5 billion in Saturday sales and $5.9 billion on Sunday.

The record performance comes amid a significant acceleration in AI-driven shopping behavior. Traffic from generative AI sources increased by 1,200% year-over-year in October, with these AI-directed consumers demonstrating a 16% higher conversion rate compared to non-AI traffic sources such as paid search, affiliates, email, organic search, and social media. This represents a dramatic reversal from earlier in the year when AI traffic was 9% less likely to convert in August and 23% less likely in July.

"We're seeing AI traffic generating 8% more revenue per session than other sources," said an executive familiar with Adobe's data, who asked not to be identified discussing proprietary metrics. "Consumers are becoming increasingly comfortable completing purchases directly after AI-powered chat or browser experiences."

Separate data from Salesforce showed total Black Friday spending reached $18 billion, with luxury apparel and accessories among the top-performing categories. However, the increased spending figures mask underlying consumer caution—shoppers purchased fewer items overall due to rising prices, indicating that the higher dollar volumes are driven by elevated price points rather than increased transaction volume.

In-store traffic remained noticeably quieter than in previous years, according to retail industry sources, as many consumers expressed concern about overspending amid persistent inflation and economic uncertainty. The divergence between robust online performance and more cautious physical retail traffic highlights the ongoing structural shift toward digital commerce.

Looking ahead, Cyber Monday is anticipated to be the peak shopping day of the season with projected online sales of $14.2 billion, according to Adobe's forecast. The strong momentum suggests retailers who have effectively integrated AI-powered shopping experiences are capturing disproportionate benefits during this critical shopping period.

Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated the year-over-year percentage increase for AI traffic. The correct figure is 1,200%.