US online sales hit $5.1-B on Thanksgiving Day

ANKARA – Online sales hit USD5.1 billion on Thanksgiving Day in the US, at the lower end of estimates, according to Adobe Digital Insights (ADI) data on Friday.

The digital market research agency expected online sales to come between USD5.1-USD5.9 billion on Thanksgiving Day.

While this year’s e-commerce figure matched last year’s, online spending marked almost a 21 percent increase from Thanksgiving Day in 2019.

Online sales coming at the lower end of estimates could be a result of global supply chain issues and American consumers starting shopping early this holiday season, which officially starts on Nov. 1 and continues through New Year’s Eve.

ADI, however, said e-commerce spending is on track to surpass the USD200 billion mark for the first time in history to reach USD207 billion this season.

For Black Friday, online sales are forecast to hit a record high of USD9.5 billion, according to ADI.

Cyber Monday, which started in 2005 to encourage consumers to shop on the internet, is projected to rack up USD11.3 billion in a single day, ADI’s data showed.