Covid-19 is changing the way American consumers shop. Online sales on Black Friday hit a record high, jumping 22 percent from the same day last year, according to adobe's estimates.


[Online transaction volume surges]


Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving and marks the start of the Christmas shopping season. With the rise of online shopping, more consumers choose to order online during black Friday, a trend exacerbated by the coVID-19 outbreak this year.


Adobe analytics, which tracks online spending, estimates that $9 billion was spent online on Black Friday in America this year, surpassing last year's record of $7.4 billion, up 22% from a year earlier. Toys, headphones and televisions are selling like hot cakes online.

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Online transactions by U.S. retailers large and small have increased significantly this year. According to Adobe analytics, online transactions at major retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the largest U.S. retailer, and Target, the grocery chain, rose 403 percent and 349 percent from the October average during black Friday, while those at smaller retailers rose 349 percent.


The analytics firm predicted that the U.S. online trading record could be set within 30 days, with estimates ranging from $10.8 billion to $12.7 billion.


According to Adobe, one of the reasons for the rise in black Friday online transactions is that the epidemic has caused people to switch from offline shopping to online shopping, such as everyday items and drinks.


[Offline passenger flow plummets]


The number of confirmed coVID-19 cases in the US exceeded 200,000 for the first time in a single day, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to more than 13 million, according to data released by Johns Hopkins University on Wednesday.


Affected by the epidemic, brick-and-mortar stores are restricted during the "Black Friday", limiting customers' on-site shopping time and the scale of large-scale shopping activities. This year's Black Friday saw a 52 percent drop in foot traffic in U.S. brick-and-mortar stores, leading to a decline in brick-and-mortar store sales, according to Ihs American Solutions.


Figures released by Future Retail, a data analytics company, show that offline sales of jewellery and footwear fell the most, with apparel down 50 per cent and home furnishing down 39 per cent.


Even so, Black Friday is likely to be one of the biggest offline shopping days of the year in the United States, according to Brian Field, senior director of global retail consulting at Senor American Solutions. In his view, many consumers still visit physical stores during the Christmas season, but avoid busy weekends because online delivery times tend to be longer and in-store discounts may be stronger.

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