Smartphones lead to online shopping surge on Thanksgiving

Smartphones are driving online sales this
Thanksgiving.
AP/J Pat
Carter

• Smartphone use for both browsing and shopping online
  has exploded this Thanksgiving.
• They have contributed 54.4% of all traffic to
  retail sites so far on Thanksgiving Day, versus 46.1% last
  year, and they facilitated 36.7% of all sales this year versus
  29.1% last year. 
• Mobile shopping has helped make Thanksgiving
  one of the largest sales days online by revenue for
  retailers.
• The use of phones may be due to retailers offering
  sales on a day with many familial obligations as
  so-called “Black
  Friday creep” continues to impact all of online
  shopping. 

Thanksgiving Day hosts are seeing a new uninvited guest over for
dinner in recent years: Black Friday sales.

Smartphone use for both browsing and shopping online is exploding
this Thanksgiving, according to Adobe Analytics. Shoppers are
predicted to spend a record $3.7 billion online by midnight — up
a whopping 29% when compared to 2017 — thanks in large part to
smartphone shopping.

This year, smartphones have accounted for 36.7% of all sales, up
substantially over the 29.1% share in 2017.

Read more:



Thanksgiving has suddenly become one of America’s favorite days
to shop online

“Mobile stole the show Thanksgiving Day with smartphones
representing more than 50% of traffic to retail sites, as well as
record amount of revenue,” Taylor Schreiner, director of Adobe
Digital Insights, said in a prepared statement.

Smartphone shopping has been increasing dramatically in recent
years, especially on Thanksgiving. The holiday is becoming one of
the most popular days to shop online. Shoppers now have the means
— thanks to the proliferation of smartphones equipped with
stores’ apps — and the opportunity, as retailers make their
stores open earlier and earlier.

Many online sales started earlier this year, which may have
contributed to the drastically larger numbers. Walmart
started its Black Friday sales online the night before
Thanksgiving, while
Amazon has been offering Black Friday sales for the entire
week leading up to the vaunted day.

Retailers’ apps have also gotten much better, according
to a customer survey by Synchrony Financial earlier this
year.