According to figures, US Thanksgiving online sales are up roughly 4% so far this year

Online sales in the U.S. rose approximately 4% during the first half of the Thanksgiving holiday, compared to a 2% increase during the same period last year, according to Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) data released on Thursday. This highlights consumers’ eagerness to capitalize on significant discounts offered by retailers.

To attract cost-conscious shoppers this year, U.S. retailers have introduced steeper discounts earlier and expanded their holiday deals. Earlier this week, Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) CEO Corie Barry noted that demand outside major sales events was weaker than anticipated, mirroring observations from Target (NYSE:TGT) executives, who reported a stronger-than-expected response to promotions.

While department stores such as Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS) and Macy’s (NYSE:M) remain cautious with their annual outlooks due to slower sales, retailers like Abercrombie & Fitch and Gap have raised their forecasts, driven by strong demand for trendy apparel. Retail giants Walmart (NYSE:WMT) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) are also poised to benefit from what appears to be a mixed holiday shopping season.

Salesforce predicts that the peak online shopping period on Thanksgiving will be from 7 p.m. to midnight EST, accounting for 35% of the day’s sales. This insight is based on traffic trends across thousands of online retailers.

The overall holiday shopping season, spanning Thanksgiving to Christmas, is expected to experience its slowest growth in six years, according to reports from the National Retail Federation (NYSE:NNN) and Deloitte. Salesforce recorded $7.5 billion in U.S. online sales on Thanksgiving Day 2023, reflecting a modest 1% increase compared to last year.

Cyber Week, spanning the Tuesday before Thanksgiving through the following Monday, is projected to generate $311 billion in global sales, according to a Salesforce forecast released on November 20. Meanwhile, Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) Analytics suggests Thanksgiving will be the ideal day for deals on toys, appliances, furniture, and sporting goods.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paraphrasing text from "Reuters" all rights reserved by the original author.