Holiday Spending Grows Despite Inflation Woes

Online Black Friday spending in the U.S. rose to a new record in 2022, hitting $9.1 billion, according to estimates from Adobe Analytics -despite consumers battling with high inflation and a cost of living squeeze in the run up to the Christmas period. As this infographic shows, the 2.3 percent year-over-year growth was matched and even surpassed on Thanksgiving Day, when consumers committed around $5.3 billion online.

Some of the products featured at the top of shoppers' wish lists were according to Adobe, the gaming console Xbox Series X, drones and Macbooks. Electronics in general saw purchases increase by 221 percent compared to an average day in October, according to reporting by Axios. Gaining even more discount-based traction was the toys segment, with a 285 percent jump.

Overshadowing both of these shopping events however, is Cyber Monday. Adobe projects online spending to increase by a solid 5.1 percent, reaching $11.2 billion. The actual figure could prove to be even higher, though, as spending on Thanksgiving and Black Friday already surpassed Adobe's expectations.