NEW YORK/ATLANTA, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Bargain-hunting Americans clicked their way through Thanksgiving, spending 5% more than last year, as more consumers turned to laptops and phones instead of braving brisk weather to snap up deals over the crucial Black Friday shopping weekend.
While early online sales figures showed a promising trend for spending, at major retailers the traditional Black Friday bargain-chasing felt subdued compared to bygone years, when throngs of people stood in line on a post-Thanksgiving morning. And many of those who ventured out said they were on a budget, fearful of overspending at a time when inflation remains above-trend and the labor market is softening.
“I’m being much more careful,” said Grace Curbelo, 67, of New Rochelle, New York, who was at the Woodbury Common outlet center in Central Valley, New York, on Friday morning. “I’m not sure how the economy will turn and I don’t want to put myself in debt.”
Overall online spending on Thanksgiving Thursday rose 5.3% year-over-year to $6.4 billion, according to Adobe Analytics, which vets e-commerce transactions online, covering over 1 trillion visits to U.S. retail sites. That was better than anticipated, Adobe said, as online shopping has diluted Black Friday's significance, with promotions geared towards the event spread across weeks.
QUIET AT SUNUP
About an hour before sunup in the 30-degree Fahrenheit cold, Quantavius Shorter, 40, a diesel engine mechanic from Atlanta, was one of the first of only a dozen people waiting in line at 5:59 a.m. at the local Walmart in Atlanta's Gresham Park neighborhood.
Shorter bought a Roku 1, flat-screen smart TV for $298, a perfect discount for his smaller Christmas budget.
"This is usually $500," said Shorter. "I'm here early because I expected it to sell out."
MORE CAUTIOUS CONSUMERS
U.S. retail sales increased less than expected in September in part due to elevated prices. President Donald Trump's tariffs have contributed to this trend, adding roughly 4.9 percentage points to retail prices, according to the non-profit Tax Foundation, opens new tab.
"What we're seeing is that certainly consumers are more cautious," said Massimo Basei, chief commercial officer of Danish jewelry giant Pandora, predicting fierce competition.
With unemployment near a four-year high, shoppers have also become more selective. U.S. consumer confidence sagged to a seven-month low in November, according to economic research group The Conference Board, with fewer households planning to buy motor vehicles, houses and other big-ticket items over the next six months, or to make vacation plans.
Software firm Salesforce (CRM.N), said that overall order volumes on Thanksgiving fell 2% from the previous year, while the average selling price for goods rose 8%, indicating consumers are buying higher-priced goods rather than increasing their overall consumption. That suggests both a higher level of selectivity among consumers, as well as increasing dominance by the most affluent households.
The richest 10% of Americans - those earning at least $250,000 annually - accounted for about 48% of all consumer spending in the second quarter of 2025, a steady increase from around 35% of spending in the mid-1990s, according to Moody's Analytics.
Mark Douglas, 68, of Rye, New York, decided to wait in line at the Nike outlet at Woodbury Common to buy his wife and sons sneakers, saying the outlets usually have good prices.
But waiting in the bitter cold wind turned out not to be efficient. "I should have done this online," he said.
More shoppers are turning to artificial intelligence. Adobe data showed AI traffic to U.S. retail sites on Thanksgiving increased by 725% compared to last year with over half of the total AI visits more likely to convert into sales for retailers.
In Europe, the shopping day was marked by strikes at Amazon (AMZN.O), warehouses in Germany, with separate protests also planned outside Zara stores in Spain. Meanwhile, Starbucks' workers union also said they were escalating their ongoing indefinite strike to 26 more stores in the U.S. on Black Friday.
Reporting by Siddharth Cavale, Jessica DiNapoli and Dan Burns in New York, Rich McKay in Atlanta, Harshita Meenaktshi, Juveria Tabassum and Prerna Bedi in Bengaluru and Helen Reid in London; Editing by Lisa Jucca, David Gaffen and Philippa Fletcher
