Despite concerns about an economic slowdown and rising prices, online holiday shopping reached an all-time high at the end of the year as retailers rolled out steep discounts.
According to recent data from Adobe Analytics, total online spending from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31 last year totaled $257.8 billion, the highest on record. That was about 7% higher than the same period a year earlier.
Shoppers were especially active in higher-priced categories such as electronics, home appliances, and sporting goods, aiming to take advantage of deeper discounts.
The biggest sales day was Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving, when consumers spent $14.25 billion online in a single day.
Vivek Pandya, a director at Adobe Digital Insights, said, “Even in a highly price-sensitive environment, consumers were willing to spend when they felt prices were reasonable, and that was a defining feature of this season.”
Some electronics were discounted by about 30% off list price. Use of installment payment options such as BNPL also increased as consumers split payments over time.
During the shopping season, the influence of artificial intelligence (AI) and mobile also grew compared with before. Consumers more often used AI chatbots to compare and search for products, and shopping through social media became more frequent.
Adobe said traffic coming through AI-based paths was more likely to lead to purchases than traffic from traditional paths. Pandya said consumers tend to see AI as a more useful tool for expensive items like electronics and home appliances that involve many points of comparison.
By category, consumers spent more on higher-priced durable goods such as video games, smartwatches, and refrigerators.
Popular toys included LEGO sets and Wicked dolls, while game consoles and video games also showed strong demand.
Among tech products, Apple Watch and Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses were especially strong sellers. Online electronics spending during the holiday season totaled $59.8 billion, up about 8% from a year earlier.
BY HOONSIK WOO [woo.hoonsik@koreadaily.com]
