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AI-powered shopping tools fuelled a historic surge in online spending this Black Friday, helping Americans stretch their budgets during a holiday season clouded by inflationary pressure, rising tariffs, and a soft labour market.
US consumers spent $11.8 billion online, a 9.1% jump from last year, according to Adobe Analytics, which tracks over a trillion retail website visits.
The shift reflects shoppers’ growing reliance on digital assistants to navigate deals, avoid crowded stores, and make more informed purchases in a year when confidence has slipped to a seven-month low and unemployment is at its highest in nearly four years.
AI-driven traffic on retail platforms surged by 805%, according to Adobe, an unprecedented leap in connection with the rollout of tools like Walmart’s Sparky and Amazon’s Rufus.
“Consumers are using new tools to get to what they need faster,” Suzy Davidkhanian of eMarketer said. Large language models, she noted, have discovered gifts ‘quicker and more guided.’
E-commerce sales rose 10.4%, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse, far outpacing the 1.7% growth in-store, an indication of a clear preference for online bargain-hunting.
Hot sellers ranged from LEGO sets and Pokémon cards to gaming consoles like the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5, across to Apple AirPods and KitchenAid mixers.
According to Salesforce, AI and digital agents worldwide influenced a total of $14.2 billion in Black Friday sales, with $3 billion coming from the US alone. The firm pegged total US online spending at $18 billion, up 3% YoY, driven by strong demand for luxury apparel and accessories.
Spending was higher at the topline, despite that, shoppers actually bought fewer items. Order volumes fell 1% as average selling prices rose 7%, while units per transaction were down 2%, reflecting inflationary pressure.
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Discounts were mostly flat versus 2024, constraining the value of Black Friday deals. The need for deeper markdowns has been difficult owing to tariffs and generally high product costs.
“The first driver of higher selling prices is absolutely the impact of tariffs,” said Caila Schwartz of Salesforce. The second, she added, is stronger spending by high-income households, which boosted luxury categories even as average earners grew cautious.
Michael Ashley Schulman of Running Point said high prices paired with shallow discounts have weakened the ‘real value’ of Black Friday bargains.
With Americans increasingly using AI tools for smarter shopping, Adobe is expecting Cyber Monday to reach $14.2 billion in sales, making it the biggest online shopping day of the year. Electronics may see discounts as high as 30%, with strong deals on apparel and computers.
However, footfall remained muted in physical stores as shoppers feared overspending in the midst of inflation, trade uncertainty, and a cooling job market.
