US Thanksgiving Online Sales Surge by 4% in 2024

 

Online sales in the U.S. surged by approximately 4% during the first half of the Thanksgiving holiday, marking a significant increase from last year's 2%, as per Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) data released on Thursday. This uptick underscores a growing enthusiasm among shoppers for retailers' enticing discounts.

 

U.S. retailers have been quick to roll out aggressive discounts and expand their holiday offerings to attract more budget-conscious consumers this season.

 

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) CEO Corie Barry recently noted a surprising dip in demand between sales events, contrasting Target (NYSE:TGT) executives' observations of a robust response to promotions this year.

 

While caution persists among department stores like Kohl's (NYSE:KSS) and Macy's (NYSE:M) due to sales deceleration, Abercrombie & Fitch and Gap have raised their forecasts on the back of high demand for fashionable apparel. Retail behemoths Walmart (NYSE:WMT) and Amazon(NASDAQ:AMZN) are also poised to benefit from what may be a varied holiday shopping season.

 

The peak period for online shopping on Thanksgiving in the U.S. is predicted to be between 7 p.m. and midnight EST, accounting for an anticipated 35% of sales, according to Salesforce. This estimate is derived from traffic data from numerous online retailers.

 

Despite this surge, the 2023 holiday shopping season spanning from Thanksgiving to Christmas is expected to witness its slowest growth in six years, according to reports from the National Retail Federation (NYSE:NNN) and Deloitte.

 

Salesforce reported online Thanksgiving Day sales in the U.S. reaching $7.5 billion in 2023, a 1% increase from the previous year. The company's projections for Cyber Week, spanning from the Tuesday before Thanksgiving to the Monday after, anticipate global sales to hit $311 billion.

Thanksgiving is anticipated to be an optimal day for shopping for toys, appliances, furniture, and sporting goods, according to insights from Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) Analytics.