Dive Brief:
- Concluding the festive period, American consumers expended an astonishing $257.8 billion online between November 1 and December 31, representing a 6.8% increase compared to the previous year, as revealed by recent data from Adobe Analytics.
- Notably, the adoption of buy now, pay later (BNPL) options surged during this timeframe, contributing $20 billion to online spending, a 9.8% rise from 2024.
- Moreover, the advent of generative AI tools significantly influenced U.S. e-commerce engagement over the holidays, yielding a remarkable 693.4% increase in traffic directed to retail websites.
Dive Insight:
The discourse surrounding AI garnered considerable attention in the retail sector last year, revealing a burgeoning consumer appetite for utilizing such technologies to enhance shopping experiences during the holiday season.
Nonetheless, the user adoption remains relatively modest, despite substantial year-on-year growth, according to Adobe.
Retailers in 2025 escalated their investments in developing proprietary AI shopping assistants and forging partnerships with established platforms to better cater to consumer preferences.
“During the 2025 holiday season, consumers increasingly leveraged generative AI as a pivotal shopping assistant, shaping their purchasing choices,” remarked Vivek Pandya, Lead Analyst at Adobe Digital Insights.
“Attractive discounts coupled with flexible payment mechanisms like Buy Now Pay Later propelled the unprecedented expenditure of $257.8 billion during this holiday period.”
The sectors of electronics, apparel, and furniture constituted approximately 54% of the total spending during this interval, with all three categories witnessing year-on-year growth.
The groceries sector experienced a 10.2% rise in expenditures, while cosmetics saw an increase of 9.3%.
As shoppers approached the holidays, a focus on value emerged. Although Adobe noted the presence of competitive discounts, many categories reported only modest gains in online discounts year over year.
In the electronics realm, peak discounts reached 30.9% off the listed price, a slight increase from 30.1% in 2024.
Discounts in the toys category escalated from 28% to 29.6%, apparel from 23.2% to 25.1%, televisions from 24.2% to 24.3%, and appliances from 19.2% to 20.2%, while furniture saw a dip from 19% to 18.8%.
According to an Adobe survey of over 1,000 consumers conducted in November, shoppers predominantly utilized BNPL for acquiring items such as electronics, apparel, toys, and furniture during the holiday season.
December analyses from economists at the Bank of America Institute indicated a growing reliance on financing avenues like BNPL and credit cards among consumers throughout the holiday shopping period.
Furthermore, research from the marketing intelligence platform Sooth projected a potential 50% rise in BNPL default rates within the first quarter of 2026.
Source link: Retaildive.com.
