Online shopping has steadily increased this holiday season as record discounts helped offset the pain of high inflation, according to a report released on Thursday.
Consumers spent a record $211.7 billion on online purchases between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31, according to Adobe Analytics. This represents an increase of 3.5% compared to the same period in 2021.
The numbers are not corrected for inflation. However, Adobe said the increase was driven by rising demand, not just higher prices. That’s because the survey found that online prices have been falling year on year since September.
Still, retailers have been forced to offer deep discounts to entice shoppers this holiday season and reduce bloated inventories of clothing, electronics and other items.
Adobe said that across major e-commerce categories, discounts hit record highs this holiday season.
For example, retailers have reduced toy prices by 34% from listed prices, compared to 19% in the 2021 holiday season, according to Adobe.
Electronics discounts hit 25%, compared to 8% discounts the previous holiday season. Shoppers also found significant discounts on computers (20%), apparel (19%), televisions (17%) and home appliances (16%).
“At a time when consumers were grappling with high prices in areas such as food, gas and rent, holiday discounts were strong enough to sustain discretionary spending throughout the season,” said Vivek Pandya, principal analyst at Adobe Digital Insights, On the report.
Adobe said demand for toys, video games and clothing soared, with consumers snapping up watches, baby toys and outdoor grills. Best sellers include Legos, Hot Wheels, Paw Patrols and LOL Surprise.
During Cyber Week alone (the five days between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday), consumers spent $35.3 billion shopping online, a 4% increase from the same period of 2021, according to the report.
Retail sales were solid across the economy this holiday season. In-store and online retail sales increased by 7.6% between Nov. 1 and Dec. 24, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse data released late last month. These numbers are not adjusted for inflation.
Source: CNN Brasil
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