While some were eating Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday night, others were already starting their biggest shopping week of the year.

Thanksgiving Day ecommerce sales set a new record of $5.6 billion in online spending, according to analysis from Adobe Analytics. That sets the stage for the rest of the week, including Black Friday and Cyber Monday. 

Salesforce says U.S. Thanksgiving online sales reached $7.5 billion, and global sales totaled $31.7 billion, each growing 1% over Salesforce’s figures from last year. 

“Cyber Week is off to a strong start as consumers took advantage of strong discounts and continued their shopping plans, virtually,” said Vivek Pandya, lead analyst, Adobe Digital Insights.

Thanksgiving ecommerce results

The $5.6 billion consumers spent online on Thanksgiving according to Adobe is a 5.5% increase over Thanksgiving 2022. The results are more impressive with a longer perspective. Online spending nearly doubled since 2017, when consumers spent $2.87 billion online shopping on Thanksgiving.

Toys were a top shopping category for consumers getting a jump start on holiday presents. Toy sales were up 182% over an average day in October, per Adobe. Discounts on toys reached 28%. Disney Little People, Uno Show No Mercy, Marvel figures, Barbie dolls, and stuffed animals were the most popular toys among Thanksgiving shoppers.

Jewelry sales were also strong, up 126%, along with apparel (124%), electronics (113%) and personal care products (67%). Electronics and computers recorded some of the highest discounts, of 27% and 22%, respectively. Gaming consoles including the Playstation 5, Xbox Series X and Nintendo Switch were all popular. Games for the consoles were also top sellers, Adobe recorded. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Super Mario RPG, Hogwarts Legacy, and Mortal Kombat 1 were the top games. Robot vacuums, bluetooth speakers, tablets, workout apparel, and holiday decor rounded out the top seller list. 

The average order value on U.S. Thanksgiving online orders was $119, according to Salesforce. 

Mobile sales ruled Thanksgiving ecommerce

Mobile sales reached an all-time Thanksgiving high this year, according to Adobe Analytics. 59% of all Thanksgiving online sales were made on mobile devices, accounting for $3.3 billion in spending, an increase of 14% year over year. 

Both mobile sales and online sales overall peaked between 9 p.m. and midnight PT, Adobe said.

Online traffic to retail websites grew 6% in the U.S. year over year, according to Salesforce. 82% of that traffic came from mobile devices. Mobile wallet usage also grew, up 44% year over year. Apple Pay drove much of that growth, increasing 47% over 2022. 

Social media ads also drove sales through mobile traffic, according to Salesforce. Social media accounted for 13% of U.S. mobile traffic referrals to retailers.

“Mobile traffic and sales are soaring as people are on the go once again this holiday weekend. Consumers are embracing mobile wallets to break down friction between discovering on social and purchasing on mobile,” Rob Garf, vice president and general manager of retail at Salesforce, said in a statement.

Black Friday predictions

Adobe forecasts Black Friday will have the best deals on TVs, with discounts as deep as 22%. Apparel, appliances, sporting goods, toys and other categories will also be discounted, though Adobe says steeper discounts will come later for these types of purchases.

Black Friday is projected to account for $9.6 billion in online sales, according to Adobe forecasts. That would be a 5.7% increase year over year. 

Meanwhile, Salesforce predicts that BOPIS (buy online, pick up in store) sales will increase on Black Friday as consumers look to avoid shopping in crowded stores. 

Ecommerce fraud prevention vendor Signifyd says holiday sales are 6% higher than this time last year, as of mid-day on Black Friday. 

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