ComScore reported U.S. desktop retail e-commerce sales for Thanksgiving Day rose 22 percent while Black Friday rose 20 percent. Thanksgiving Day sales reached $1.57 billion to surpass the billion-dollar threshold for the fourth consecutive year. Black Friday (November 24) followed reached $2.36 billion, marking the first time it reached the $2 billion milestone from desktop sales alone.

Key Spending Days in 2017 Holiday Season vs. Corresponding Days* in 2016
Non-Travel (Retail) E-Commerce Spending
Excludes Auctions and Large Corporate Purchases
Total U.S. – Home & Work Desktop Computers
Source: comScore, Inc.
 

 

 Millions ($)
2016 2017 Percent Change
Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 23, 2017) $1,287 $1,572 22%
Black Friday (Nov. 24, 2017) $1,970 $2,360 20%

*Corresponding days based on corresponding shopping days (November 22 and November 23, 2016)

“Thanksgiving and Black Friday each saw impressive online spending totals on desktop computers while posting 20-percent growth rates, adding to the holiday season’s fast start compared to 2016,” said ComScore SVP of Marketing and Insights Andrew Lipsman. “With more consumers opting to kick off their holiday shopping online on Thanksgiving, the traditional day of giving thanks has also become one of the more important online buying days of the holiday season as an increasing number of people prefer to get a head start on their buying from the comfort of their homes. Black Friday continued the online shopping frenzy, surging to an all-time high of more than $2 billion in desktop spending, and proving once again that it is now as much an online shopping holiday as a brick-and-mortar one.”

Other highlights from the holiday weekend include:

  • 115 million people visited online retail sites on Thanksgiving, 61 percent of whom only visited on their mobile devices.
  • 129 million people visited online retail sites on Black Friday, up 14 percent vs. last year, with 55 million coming via desktop and 104 million via mobile (and 30 million on both).
  • Growth in Thanksgiving Day desktop retail e-commerce sales was predominantly driven by an increase in buyers (+16 percent vs. year ago), but also modest increases in the number of dollars per transaction (+3 percent) and transactions per buyer (+2 percent).
  • Apparel & Accessories ranked as the top product category on Black Friday with more than $600 million in desktop sales, followed closely by Consumer Electronics with more than $500 million.

Lipsman added: “The strong performance on Thanksgiving and Black Friday bode well for Cyber Monday, which we expect to easily surpass $3 billion in desktop spending and reach $4.5 billion in overall digital sales to become the leading online spending day for the eighth consecutive year, as people continue their holiday gift buying at work – away from the prying eyes of their families.”

Photo courtesy Adidas