Black Friday online sales hit record $9.12 billion amid inflation
Yahoo Finance Live anchors discuss Black Friday online sales raking in a record $9.12 billion.
Video Transcript
[AUDIO LOGO]
BRAD SMITH: Continue the conversation, in terms of what this means for the holiday season and more broadly here as well. Consumers did spend a record $9.12 billion on online purchases this Black Friday despite inflation concerns, according to data from Adobe Analytics.
Some of the hottest items sold were get this, "Fortnite," FUNKO Pop, and Xbox Series X there. So you've got a range of categories that are touched there. But all of them somewhat touching gaming there. So one of the underlying themes that you could perhaps point to.
And within this Adobe data, it was interesting in how they were able to kind of lay this out here because I was looking at one of the charts that kind of gave some of the inclinations or at least gave some of the data around where we did see these spikes in purchases that were made.
And let's also think back to October where so much of that purchasing, that demand was brought forward as well in the Deals For Days from Target, from Walmart, and then Amazon Prime Days even being moved forward. And then now, you fast forward to what we already knew it would be a high demand and yearly cyclical period, where they did see that $9.12 billion in revenue. And that was just on Black Friday alone there.
BRIAN SOZZI: Yeah, there's a small wrinkle to this latest Adobe data that just hit about 30 minutes ago. They made it a point to say, this is not just reflective of inflation, these sales numbers. But even if they back out inflation, Adobe is saying they saw sales up slightly year-over-year.
But look, even if you were to beat last year's record sales by $1.00, obviously, the number would be a record this year. But I'm looking at some of the notes out here from Wall Street, right now, Citi is saying they saw underwhelming store traffic and they saw a cautious consumer.
And at least premarket-- I know the market is under pressure here, but you're not seeing these retail stocks at least suggest that the holiday season has got off to a bang-up start. A lot of concern out there and it's being reflected in this space.
JULIE HYMAN: Because it's costing them.
BRIAN SOZZI: Yes.
JULIE HYMAN: Right? The other thing that Adobe highlights in its forecast, by the way, that consumers are going to spend between $11.2 and $11.6 billion today alone on Cyber Monday, is all the discounts. All the sales that are happening. Record discounts for computers, which peaked at 27% off listed price. Great deals they say, well, can be found in nearly all categories-- apparel 19% off, toys 33% off, electronics 25% off. Everything is on sale.
You guys see it in your inboxes, as I'm sure all of our viewers do, too. You've been getting that flood of emails. And so, you know, that's why, perhaps, we know that-- what's gonna happen in the margins to some of these companies as well.
BRIAN SOZZI: And it's not just-- it's not just some of those. Citi calling to-- calling out heightened promotions in appliances and grills. So that grill replenishment rate under pressure, Brad.
BRAD SMITH: The refrigerator replenishment--
BRIAN SOZZI: Yes.
BRAD SMITH: --is under fire as well.
BRIAN SOZZI: Yes.
BRAD SMITH: Deflationary period being signaled there. And--
JULIE HYMAN: By the way, Adobe says the best day for a deal on appliances--
BRAD SMITH: What's that?
JULIE HYMAN: December 1.
BRIAN SOZZI: Well, I need a new washer. Help me out.
JULIE HYMAN: So wait until December 1. That's when discounts are set to peak at 18% on average, according to Adobe.
BRIAN SOZZI: Love it.
BRAD SMITH: You're gonna get the dishwasher that lets you check the status on your phone as well.
BRIAN SOZZI: I mean, because why not? And anything else would be unacceptable, Brad.
BRAD SMITH: That's innovation.
BRIAN SOZZI: Yeah.
BRAD SMITH: It's an innovation.
BRIAN SOZZI: Yes.
BRAD SMITH: This is in the broader context of the NRF forecasting that holiday retail sales between November and December are actually gonna grow between 6% and 8% over 2021. So the total figure that we're going to be kind of keeping tabs on and tracking towards is somewhere between $942.6 and $960 billion.
BRIAN SOZZI: I was checking out my detergent on my phone.
JULIE HYMAN: I was going to say, every time I see you looking at your phone now--
BRIAN SOZZI: I'm checking out my detergent.
JULIE HYMAN: --I'm wondering--
BRIAN SOZZI: No, I'm just kidding.
JULIE HYMAN: --I'm wondering--
BRIAN SOZZI: I definitely don't have one of those. Does that exist though? Is that a thing, you could check your detergent and stuff?
BRAD SMITH: The appliance? Yeah. Oh, yeah. I mean, it's in dishwashers, washers, dryers. Yeah, I mean, they're just more connected.
BRIAN SOZZI: I like little pods. I like the little gel pods.
