US Online Holiday Sales Reach Record $143B

RAPAPORT... E-commerce spending in the US grew to a record high during the holiday season, driven by a rise in smartphone purchases, according to Adobe Analytics.Revenues rose 13% year on year to $142.5 billion over the November-December period, with consumer purchases on smartphones raking in more than $50 billion in sales for the first time, and accounting for 84% of online sales growth. Each day of the season saw sales of $1 billion or more, except Christmas Eve, which achieved $850 million."Smartphones drove tremendous growth in online sales this holiday season, and we expect mobile commerce to continue to grow as experiences improve," Adobe vice president of commerce Jason Woosley said Monday. "People are more connected today than ever before. We all have a smartphone in our pocket, and that is really what is driving the uptick in mobile commerce and e-commerce overall. You can literally think of something you need, and just purchase it right that second."Jewelry and cosmetics saw the highest proportion of sales from smartphones, with 46% of online purchases occurring on such a device, while apparel and footwear came in second with 45%. Consumer electronics saw the lowest percentage of sales by phone.Online purchases for the five days from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday increased 18%, with spending during the week before Thanksgiving growing 26%. The rise in sales was driven by the early start to the holiday season this year, with retailers offering deals earlier than usual, Adobe explained. Revenues from online shopping hit $100 billion six days earlier than the previous year, reaching that figure on December 9 versus December 15 in 2018.Adobe measures data from trillions of visits to the US sites of 80 of the top 100 online retailers.Image: A woman shopping online. (Flickr)