Adobe Inc. (ADBE) has published its online shopping data for the 2024 holiday season, spanning from November 1 to December 31, 2024. According to Adobe Analytics, which compiles data from the majority of the top 100 U.S. internet retailers, consumer spending reached $241.4 billion during this period, marking an 8.7% increase from the previous year.
Of the total $241.4 billion, three primary categories—electronics, apparel, and furniture/home goods—accounted for 54% of the spending. Consumers allocated $55.3 billion to electronics, $45.6 billion to apparel, and $29.2 billion to furniture/home goods, with year-over-year growth rates of 8.8%, 9.9%, and 6.8%, respectively.
This season observed a significant surge in traffic to retail sites via generative AI-powered chatbots, increasing by 1,300% compared to the prior year. An Adobe survey involving 5,000 U.S. consumers revealed that 70% of respondents believed that generative AI enhanced their shopping experience.
The 'Buy Now, Pay Later' (BNPL) schemes maintained their substantial impact on e-commerce, facilitating $18.2 billion in online spending—a 9.6% rise, setting a new all-time high.
Consumer spending online continues to be propelled by net-new demand rather than inflated prices, as reflected in Adobe's Digital Price Index, which indicated that e-commerce prices have declined for 27 consecutive months, down 2.6% year-over-year in November 2024.
"The 2024 holiday season demonstrated that e-commerce is undergoing a transformation, with consumers increasingly opting for transactions on smaller screens and leveraging generative AI-powered services to enhance shopping efficiency," stated Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights.
