Online sales on Black Friday in the United States hit a record $7.4 billion this year, with a large number of transactions made from smartphones, according to data released Saturday by Adobe Analytics.
The figure was a 19.6 percent increase over last year and the second biggest day of online sales ever, the company said, just below the $7.9 billion consumers spent on last year’s Cyber Monday, which follows Black Friday.
This year, 39 percent of online purchases were made from smartphones, a 21 percent increase from last year.
“With Christmas now rapidly approaching, consumers increasingly jumped on their phones rather than standing in line,” said Taylor Schreiner, principal analyst and head of Adobe Digital Insights.
The most popular electronics were Apple laptops, AirPods and Samsung TVs. Adobe Analytics estimates Cyber Monday will see a record $9.4 billion in sales, a nearly 19 percent increase over last year. Shoppers spent $4.2 billion online during the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, the company said.
Overall it remained unclear the percentages of sales online versus in stores this holiday weekend.Yet some shoppers still prefer the Black Friday in-store experience, which is sometimes a family hunting-and-gathering expedition after Thanksgiving festivities. About 6% more people visited stores this year, according the International Council of Shopping Centers.