Thanksgiving online sales top $1 billion for first time
Baku, November 30 (AZERTAC). Thanksgiving became a billion-dollar online shopping day for the first time this year as more consumers used tablets to browse for deals from their couches and e-commerce companies ramped up promotions.
Thanksgiving online sales came in at $1.06 billion in the U.S., according to Adobe Systems, which analyzed 180 million visits to more than 1,000 U.S. retail websites.
Until recently, Thanksgiving was a non-event for shoppers as most physical stores were shut and it was considered rude for family and friends to fire up desktop computers to search for holiday gifts and deals.
However, the rise of tablet computers and smartphones has made it easier — and arguably more socially acceptable — for consumers to shop online as they relax on the couch after the traditional turkey dinner. This trend is known as couch commerce and it has driven a surge in Thanksgiving sales online.
A record 21% of all Thanksgiving online sales came through mobile devices this year, with $152 million spent via tablets and $70 million via smartphones, Adobe said.
Amazon and eBay, the largest e-commerce companies in the U.S., performed strongly on Thanksgiving because of heavy promotions that lured more shoppers online.
“Consumers are on the couch doing a lot of their shopping and retailers are a lot more prepared for that this year,” said Scot Wingo, CEO of e-commerce company ChannelAdvisor. “Amazon and eBay do very well from this trend too.”
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