Did you wait in a long line outside for the Black Friday deal? I bet you didn’t. You probably shopped from the comfort of your couch, along with most other Americans this year.

In today’s retail landscape, Black Friday has become an extended shopping experience. The trend now encompasses an entire week, stretching from Thanksgiving onward, where shoppers browse and make purchases from the convenience of their homes. This year, 75% of U.S. adults shopped over the 5 days beginning on Thanksgiving, ending on Cyber Monday, according to ICSC.

On Black Friday, sales from online shopping reached a record high of $9.8 billion, up 7.5% from last year, according to an Adobe Analytics report. Notably, more than half of sales came from mobile. Cyber Monday followed suit, e-commerce spending totaled $12.4 billion, up 9.6% year over year.

In-store sales were more stagnant, growing just 1.1% YoY, even though physical retail stores saw a positive 2.1% lift in foot traffic. The shift from in-store shopping to online is well cemented, with no signs of trend reversal two years on from the pandemic.

The online environment makes price comparison fast and simple, and the rise in social ad spend and influencer marketing have made mobile shopping more common than desktop. For marketers after sales, a seamless social and mobile shopping experience is non-negotiable to capture consumer demand driven by activity in other channels.

By Sohyun Jeon, Integrated Media Planner