Online Holiday Shopping Sets Record Of $241 Billion In 2024, Up 8.7% From Last Year

Adobe Analytics released its holiday e-commerce sales report on Tuesday showing that consumers spent a record-setting $241.4 billion online during the 2024 holiday shopping season. 

The Details: Online spending grew 8.7% from 2023 and consumers spent more than $4 billion in a single day on 15 separate days during the Nov. 1 to Dec. 31 period. According to Adobe's report, mobile shopping on a smartphone accounted for the majority of online sales and grew to reach 54.4% of total transactions in 2024. 

Cash-strapped consumers were drawn to strong discounts during the 2024 holiday season which drove purchases of higher-priced items in electronics, sporting goods and appliances. The share-of-units-sold for the most expensive goods increased by 21% overall, according to Adobe.

The use of AI chat bot shopping assistants and increased ‘Buy Now, Pay Later' purchases were other notable trends during the holiday shopping season. 

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AI Chat Bots: Adobe's report highlighted the growth in use of generative AI chat bots as shopping assistants this season. Traffic to retail sites from generative AI-powered chat bots was up 1,300% compared to 2023 and growth in chat bot usage reached 1,950% on Cyber Monday. 

"The 2024 holiday season showed that e-commerce is being reshaped by a consumer who now prefers to transact on smaller screens and lean on generative AI-powered services to shop more efficiently," said Vivek Pandya, lead analyst, Adobe Digital Insights. 

BNPL:  The 2024 holiday shopping season saw ‘Buy Now, Pay Later' usage from providers like Affirm Holdings, Inc. AFRM and Block, Inc. SQ hit an all-time high. Buy Now, Pay Later sales reached $18.2 billion, up 9.6% year-over-year, and represented $1.6 billion more than 2023. 

Hot Sellers: Adobe's survey showed that top sellers included TVs, Bluetooth headphones and smart watches in electronics. Top toys this season included LEGO sets and Mattel, Inc.'s MAT Harry Potter toys and figurines, as well as card and board games. 

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