US online holiday sales hit record $126B as smartphones drive traffic
U.S. online shoppers spent a record $126 billion during the holiday season, with a sizable portion of sales coming from shoppers buying items on their smartphones, according to a report by Adobe Analytics.
The sales haul marked a 16.5 percent increase compared to the same period one year ago. Shoppers spent an average of more than $2 billion per day in November and December for the first time on record.
Smartphones accounted for 51 percent of traffic on online retail platforms during the period, according to Adobe, which tracks data from 80 of the top 100 U.S. e-commerce outlets, including Amazon and Walmart. Roughly one-third of all sales revenue stemmed from smartphone purchases.
Shoppers spent $24.2 billion in the five-day period between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, marking a 23 percent year-over-year increase. Major online holiday sales events on Black Friday and Cyber Monday broke existing records, drawing $6.2 billion and $7.9 billion, respectively.
Top-selling items for online retailers included the blockbuster video game Red Dead Redemption 2, streaming devices such as the Amazon Fire Stick and Fingerlings dolls, Adobe said.
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Online shoppers spent $108.2 billion during the previous online holiday shopping season.