U.S. online holiday spending from November 1 through December 31 rose 6.8 percent to $257.8 billion, according to Adobe Analytics. The growth was slower than the 8.7 percent gain achieved in 2024, but it topped the firm’s expectations, driven by steep discounts and wider adoption of buy-now-pay-later plans.

Adobe Analytics bases its estimates on direct online transactions and analyzes over one trillion visits to U.S. retail websites.

Record Holiday Season Online, Propelled by Strong Cyber Week  
Adobe found that 25 days saw $4 billion or more in spend during the 2025 holiday season, up from 18 days in 2024. Mobile shopping hit a new milestone, with the majority of online transactions (56.4 percent) taking place through a smartphone (up from 54.5 percent in 2024); mobile shopping was highest on Christmas Day (December 25), driving 66.5 percent of online sales (vs. 65 percent in 2024), followed by Thanksgiving Day (November 27) at 61.6 percent mobile share (vs. 59.3 percent in 2024).

Record online spending this holiday season was bolstered by a strong Cyber Week (the five days from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday), which brought in $44.2 billion, up 7.7 percent YoY. Cyber Monday remained the biggest e-commerce day of the season and year, driving $14.25 billion in online spend, up 7.1 percent YoY. Cyber Monday growth was outpaced by Black Friday ($11.8 billion, up 9.1 percent YoY), as consumers embraced earlier deals. On Thanksgiving Day, consumers spent $6.4 billion online, up 5.3 percent YoY.

Competitive Discounts Pushed Consumers to ‘Trade Up’
Strong discounts this holiday season drove resilient online consumer demand. Shoppers found great deals in electronics, where discounts peaked at 30.9 percent off list price (vs. 30.1 percent in 2024), as well as toys at 29.6 percent (vs. 28 percent), apparel at 25.1 percent (vs. 23.2 percent), televisions at 24.3 percent (vs. 24.2 percent), computers at 23.4 percent (vs. 22.8 percent), sporting goods at 20.3 percent (vs. 19.5 percent), appliances at 20.2 percent (vs. 19.2 percent), and furniture at 18.8 percent (vs. 19 percent).

Deals this season also drove consumers to purchase higher-ticket items in categories such as electronics, sporting goods and appliances. This season, the share of units sold for the most expensive goods increased by 20 percent compared to the rest of the year. Within categories, this figure was up 56 percent in electronics, 55 percent in sporting goods, 38 percent in appliances, 34 percent in personal care products, and 29 percent in tools.

Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) Hits $20 Billion Milestone
Usage of the flexible payment method, BNPL, hit an all-time high this holiday season, contributing $20 billion in online spend, up 9.8 percent YoY and representing $1.8 billion more than the last season. Smartphones drove the vast majority (82.2 percent) of BNPL purchases this season. Additionally, Cyber Monday was the biggest day on record for BNPL, crossing the $1 billion milestone ($1.03 billion, up 4.2 percent YoY). In an Adobe survey of over 1,000 U.S. consumers, conducted in November 2025, respondents said they were most likely to use BNPL for electronics, apparel, toys, and furniture purchases.

Generative AI Reshaped Online Shopping
Generative AI-powered chat services and browsers are helpful tools for consumers to find deals and research products. This holiday season, traffic to retail sites from generative AI tools (shoppers clicking on a link to a retail site) increased by 693.4 percent compared to the year prior. On Cyber Monday, AI traffic to U.S. retail sites increased by 670 percent. While the base of users remains modest, the uptick shows the value AI can deliver as a shopping assistant. These services were most used in categories such as video games, toys, appliances, electronics, and personal care products.

“This 2025 holiday season, consumers embraced generative AI more than ever as a shopping assistant in their purchasing decisions,” said Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights. “Competitive discounts and flexible payment options like Buy Now Pay Later also contributed to driving record spend of $257.8 billion throughout this holiday season.”

Additional 2025 Holiday Season Insights from Adobe

  • Shoppers returned fewer products: Returns were down 1.2 percent this holiday season compared with last year. In the days following Christmas Day (December 26 to December 31), returns were up 4.7 percent, and 1 out of every 7 returns in the season happened during this period. While shoppers have embraced smaller screens for transactions, they continue to rely on desktop devices to make returns. This season, 38.8 percent of returns occurred on mobile devices (vs. desktop), while 56.4 percent of overall online spend was driven by mobile.
  • Categories driving e-commerce growth: Of the $257.8 billion spent online this holiday season, over half (54 percent) was driven by three categories, including electronics ($59.8 billion, up 8.2 percent YoY), apparel ($49.0 billion, up 7.4 percent YoY) and furniture ($31.1 billion, up 6.6 percent YoY). Other categories with notable growth this season included cosmetics ($8.4 billion, up 9.3 percent YoY), groceries ($23.7 billion, up 10.2 percent YoY), sporting goods ($8.4 billion, up 7.7 percent YoY), and toys ($8.8 billion, up 7.8 percent YoY).
  • Impact of marketing investments: Adobe tracks the marketing channels driving consumers to hit ‘buy’ on U.S. retail sites. Social media is the standout this season, with its share of revenue coming in at 4.6 percent, up a significant 40.3 percent YoY (2024: 3.3 percent share, up 5.4 percent YoY). In ‘affiliates and partners’, which includes social media influencers, revenue share came in at 20.4 percent, up 15.9 percent YoY (2024: 17.6 percent share, up 6.0 percent YoY). While major channels such as paid search and email remain reliable drivers of traffic and sales online, consumers are increasingly turning to social media to discover and learn about new products.
  • What consumers are buying: Online sales of video games were up 415 percent this season compared to pre-season spending levels in October 2025. Other categories with strong demand included hand tools (up 395 percent), refrigerators and freezers (up 360 percent), home security products (up 360 percent), washers and dryers (up 350 percent), bracelets (up 335 percent), headphones and speakers (up 320 percent), puzzles and boxed games (up 300 percent), fragrance (up 295 percent), holiday decor (up 285 percent), smartwatches (up 285 percent), power tools (up 280 percent), and earrings (up 275 percent).
  • Hot sellers: This season’s top-selling items included toys such as Lego Icons sets, Wicked dolls, Furreal plush toys, LeapFrog Learning toys, Hot Wheels sets, Fisher Price Little People, Bluey Playsets, Nerf guns, Play-Doh sets, and DIY craft kits. Top-selling gaming consoles included Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, and PlayStation Portal, and top games included Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, Elden Ring: Nightreign, Pokémon Legends, NBA 2K26, and Donkey Kong Bonanza. Other hot sellers included mirrorless digital cameras (Sony A7IV), Apple Watch Series 11, fragrance sets, luggage sets, cordless vacuum cleaners, Ray-Ban Meta glasses, air fryers, cookware sets, and stainless steel tumblers.
  • Curbside pickup: The fulfillment method accounted for 17.1 percent of online orders this holiday season among retailers that offer the service (down from 17.5 percent in 2024). While usage has decreased this season, a significant number of consumers continue to find value in the fulfillment service for its speed and convenience. This season, curbside pickup peaked on December 23rd (the day before Christmas Eve), accounting for 39.0 percent of online orders as consumers used the service to ensure they got gifts on time.

Image courtesy Columbia