Online holiday spending rose to $241.4 billion

Online shopping for the holidays It reached a record high of $241.4 billion during the 2024 season. It was fueled in part by AI-powered generative chatbots that increased traffic to e-commerce sites, according to Adobe Analytics.

Online spending between November 1 and December 31 rose nearly 9% year over year, according to the latest numbers from Adobe Analytics. For 15 days during the shopping period, spending reached more than $4 billion in a single day, up from 11 days in 2023.

For its analysis of US e-commerce, Adobe analyzes online commerce transactions, covering more than one trillion visits to US retail sites, 100 million SKUs and 18 product categories.

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As part of its analysis, Adobe also found that traffic to retail sites comes from… AI-powered generative chatbotswhen shoppers click on a link to a retail site, increased by 1,300% compared to the previous year. On Cyber ​​Monday, traffic was up 1,950% year over year due to these chatbots.

This data underscores the value these bots play as shopping assistants, according to Adobe.

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In a recent Adobe survey of 5,000 US consumers, 70% of respondents who used generative AI to shop said it enhanced their experience. About 20% of participants resort to this technology to find the best deals, according to the data. Just under 20% use it to find specific items online and 15% use it to get brand recommendations.

Adobe also found that shoppers are relying on mobile devices to shop more than ever, with smartphones accounting for more than 54% of online purchases. Nearly 80% of buy now, pay later transactions occur via smartphone.

Adobe Digital Insights principal analyst Vivek Pandya said the season proved that “e-commerce is being reshaped by a consumer who now prefers to transact on smaller screens and rely on AI-powered generative services to shop more efficiently.”

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Retailers are also offering “new services and experiences that are attracting the attention of consumers, many of whom are now Shopping online in different ways“, Pandya said.