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Some shoppers may avoid stores during the coronavirus pandemic, but they are still putting a lot of items in the virtual shopping cart.
Thanksgiving spending increased 21.5% year-over-year to $ 5.1 billion, hitting a new record, according to data from Adobe Analytics. Online sales were $ 4.2 billion on Thanksgiving Day in 2019. The company analyzes traffic on retail websites and transactions from 80 of the top 100 US online retailers.
Almost half of those purchases were made on a smartphone, according to Adobe.
Retailers offering curbside pickup had a 31% higher traffic conversion rate on their sites, a reflection of how popular it has become for people to shop online and retrieve purchases without going into stores.
The robust online shopping data reflects a trend that many retailers and industry watchers expected: More consumers are avoiding shopping malls and buying gifts from their couch during the pandemic.
Like almost every aspect of 2020, the global health crisis has rocked Christmas shopping. Retailers, including Walmart and Target, started sales in mid-October to coincide with Amazon Prime Day. They have lengthened one-day sales events, giving shoppers less reason to go to the store this Black Friday.
One of the country’s leading retail groups said the global health crisis will not curb enthusiasm for shopping. The National Federation of Retailers estimated that Christmas sales will increase between 3.6% and 5.2% year-over-year, reaching between $ 755.3 billion and $ 766.7 billion. Last year, they rose 4% to $ 729.1 billion, NRF said. On average, holiday sales have increased 3.5% over the past five years.
The trade group, however, said it expects more of those dollars to be spent online, rather than in stores. It projected a 20% to 30% increase in online sales and other out-of-store sales compared to last year.
Adobe said it anticipates Black Friday and Cyber Monday to be the two largest online sales days ever. Black Friday sales are expected to total between $ 8.9 billion and $ 10.6 billion and online sales for the entire holiday season are expected to total $ 189 billion.
Follow CNBC updates on Black Friday here.
