Record-breaking trends signal strong holiday shopping season

Holiday shopping is already off to a strong start, as consumers have spent nearly 10% more online so far this holiday season, according to e-commerce sales data compiled by Adobe Analytics.

For the first 24 days of the holiday season beginning November 1, consumers have spent $77.4B online, a 9.6% increase from last year and exceeding Adobe’s projected pace for a record-breaking $241B in total online spending.

By category, consumers have spent the most on electronics at $17.7B, an 11.4% gain from a year ago, followed by $14.5B on apparel, $9.5B on bedding and furniture, $7.5B on groceries, and $3.2B on cosmetics. Of the five categories, apparel and grocery has experienced the biggest gain from last year, up 13.4% and 16.8%, respectively.

In addition to spending more this holiday season, consumers are also opening up their wallets for more expensive goods, reversing a trend towards more affordable merchandise in the preceding 5 years. During the first 24 days of November, spending on the most expensive items increased by 15.1% compared to the period between April 2019 and August 2024 when spending on expensive items decreased by 47%.

But for those still looking for a bargain, the best day to shop for televisions is Black Friday, while Saturday, November 30^th will see the best deals for computers. Cyber Monday will have the best deals for apparel and electronics. Thanksgiving is the best day to shop for toys with discounts as high as 27% compared to 15% during the first 24 days of November.

The “Buy Now Pay Later” trend continues to gain momentum with $5.7B spent online so far this holiday season and is expected to reach $18.5B for the entire 2024 holiday season, up 11% year-over-year.

Toys, smartphones and video games remain the most popular gifts this season, with Bluey toys and MGA’s Miniverse leading in the toy category and Activision Blizzard’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 topping the video game charts.

Related tickers: Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Mattel (NASDAQ:MAT), Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS), Best Buy (NYSE:BBY), Walmart (NYSE:WMT), Target (NYSE:TGT), JAKKS Pacific (NASDAQ:JAKK), GameStop (NYSE:GME), Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF), Gap (NYSE:GAP), Victoria’s Secret (NYSE:VSCO), Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST), TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX), Foot Locker (NYSE:FL), Deckers Outdoor (NYSE:DECK), DICK’s Sporting Goods (NYSE:DKS), Bath & Body Works (NYSE:BBWI), Ulta (NASDAQ:ULTA), Five Below (NASDAQ:FIVE), Burlington Stores (NYSE:BURL), Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN), SPDR S&P Retail ETF (NYSEARCA:XRT), Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA:XLY).