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But planning ahead to take advantage of them is getting harder, and that’s largely thanks to Amazon. NBC News’ Holiday Price Check is tracking the online prices of five gift items, each in a popular product category, to determine when the best deals hit. Already, it’s clear that Amazon is often setting the pace. Target, for example, has narrowed the online price gap with Amazon in key product categories since last year, Profitero found. But for retailers, the race for shoppers’ holiday dollars is increasingly a discounting competition.

Persons: “, Trae Bodge, ”, Profitero, Vivek Pandya, upmanship, Janelle Rasey, “ We’ll, Donald Trump, Jack Kleinhenz, you’re, it’s, It’s, ” Pandya Organizations: Amazon . NBC, Amazon, Walmart, Amazon Prime, Amazon’s, AirPods, NBC News, House, NBC, Retail, National Retail Federation, “ Locations: Seattle

To help answer those questions, NBC News is tracking the online prices of five popular holiday gifts in major categories through the end of the year. If these specific items aren’t on your list, it may be worth keeping an eye on them anyway. Adobe, which tracks e-commerce spending, told NBC News it expects total holiday spending to top $240 billion this year, up 8.4% from last year. Retailers including Target, Walmart and Best Buy are kicking off early holiday sales in the first week of October. Similar deals are expected for the upcoming one this month, making it an opportune time to check on deals.

Persons: Ninja, PwC, “, ”, Vivek Pandya, ” Pandya, Pandya Organizations: NBC, Consumer, Wired, Apple, Apple AirPods, Apparel, Reebok, Amazon, Target, Walmart, Amazon’s, NBC News, Keepa Reebok, Keepa, Adobe, Retailers Locations: Zappos

☆ Three reasons a strong Black Friday weekend may not mean a blowout holiday season for retailers
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Melissa Repko | In Melissa-Repko | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

And Ulta Beauty and Foot Locker 's shares rose this week, after the companies reported better-than-expected earnings and a strong start to holiday spending on sneakers, makeup and more. Adobe predicts that full holiday season online spending from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31 will hit $221.8 billion, which would be a nearly 5% year-over-year jump. If the estimate ends up being correct, that means shoppers still have a little more than half of their online holiday spending to go. The NRF said this week that its survey found about half of consumers' online and in-store holiday shopping remains. "People are just about tapped out, but [with] the holiday season, people are willing to even further extend themselves," he said.

Persons: Emily Elconin, That's, Dave Kimbell, Ulta, Matt Shay, Anastasiia, It's, Vivek Pandya, Pandya, Kena Betancur, Scott Wren, Wells, Shannon Stapleton Organizations: Getty, Adobe Analytics, National Retail Federation, Consumers, Walmart, Target, Adobe Digital, Adobe, Macy's, U.S . Federal, Shoppers, Reuters Locations: Oaks, Novi , Michigan, New York , New York, Wells Fargo, Macy's, Roosevelt, Garden City , New York, U.S

☆ US Thanksgiving weekend sales hit record $38 bln on big discounts - report
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Deborah Mary Sophia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Shoppers crowd a Walmart store ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday in Chicago, Illinois, U.S. November 27, 2019. Online consumer spending jumped 7.8% during Cyber Week, or the five days from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, according to data from Adobe Analytics, outstripping initial expectations for a 5.4% rise. But blockbuster deals rolled out from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday helped spread the holiday cheer for bargain-hunters. Sales on Cyber Monday jumped a better-than-expected 9.6% to a record $12.4 billion, as shoppers clicked "buy" on Hot Wheels toys, PlayStation 5, smart watches and kitchen appliances. Reuters GraphicsAdobe said discounts peaked at 31% for electronics and at 27% for toys on Cyber Monday, which is typically the biggest online shopping day in the U.S.

Persons: Kamil Krzaczynski, Vivek Pandya, trouncing, Klarna, Deborah Sophia, Juby Babu, Pooja Desai Organizations: Walmart, REUTERS, Adobe Analytics, Deloitte, Adobe Digital, Graphics Adobe, Thomson Locations: Chicago , Illinois, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ US Thanksgiving weekend sales hit record on big discounts, online boost
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Deborah Mary Sophia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

More than 200 million shoppers tapped into promotions both in-store and online during the Thanksgiving weekend, the National Retail Federation (NRF) said on Tuesday. That was a jump from the 196 million shoppers seen last year and trumped the trade association's estimates of 182 million. Online shoppers rose 3.1% to 134.2 million, making up for a slight dip in the number of customers who visited brick-and-mortar stores. The weekend saw about 121.4 million in-store shoppers, down from 122.7 million in 2022, according to the retail body. Adobe said discounts peaked at 31% for electronics and at 27% for toys on Cyber Monday, which is typically the biggest online shopping day in the U.S.

Persons: Kamil Krzaczynski, Matthew Shay, Vivek Pandya, trouncing, Klarna, Deborah Sophia, Juby Babu, Pooja Desai Organizations: Walmart, REUTERS, Adobe Analytics, Deloitte, National Retail Federation, Shoppers, Adobe Digital, Adobe, Thomson Locations: Chicago , Illinois, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ Deal-hunters fuel $12 billion Cyber Monday shopping spree
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz Acquire Licensing RightsNov 27 (Reuters) - After a busy holiday shopping weekend, discount seekers are expected to spend between a record $12 billion and $12.4 billion on beauty products, electronics, toys and apparel on Cyber Monday, according to Adobe Analytics. Heavy online traffic and transactions could add up to a boost in sales by U.S. shoppers of 5.4% or more, according to Adobe. Shoppers spent $10.3 billion in the weekend leading up to Cyber Monday, up 7.7% from last year as retailers offered more discounts compared to last year. More merchandise was being discounted in the weekend leading up to Cyber Monday, according to a report from LSEG. Walmart (WMT.N) , eager to capture market share, slashed prices on Sunday night, joining the trend of retailers' early discounts on major shopping days.

Persons: Eduardo Munoz, Vivek Pandya, Pandya, TJ Maxx, Jharonne Martis, LSEG, Rob Garf, Garf, Vanessa O'Connell, Deborah Sophia, Arriana, David Gregorio, Nick Zieminski Organizations: Workers, REUTERS, Adobe Analytics, U.S, Adobe, Shoppers, Adobe Digital, Walmart, Reuters, Costco, Commerce, Insider Intelligence, Thomson Locations: Robbinsville Township, New Jersey, U.S, Salesforce, Ross

A lot of the spending was driven by deals and buy-now, pay-later programs. The Fed’s “beige book” report on the economy is out on Wednesday, and that will show how inflation is affecting businesses and consumers. But consumers continue to express concern over inflation that has left overall prices higher by about 18% since 2021. “With inflation falling as the Fed keeps rates unchanged, real interest rates continue to tighten,” said Richard de Chazal, macro analyst at William Blair. But consumers remain concerned about inflation and just how much will be seen on Tuesday when the Conference Board releases its consumer confidence index for November.

Persons: SpendingPulse, ”, Vivek Pandya, Signifyd, Richard de Chazal, William Blair, “ Organizations: Adobe Analytics, Adobe Digital, Consumers, Retailers, Federal Reserve, Fed, Wells, ”, Conference Board

☆ Price-sensitive US shoppers nab early 'Cyber Monday' deals
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Workers select and pack items during Cyber Monday at the Amazon fulfilment center in Robbinsville Township in New Jersey, U.S., November 28, 2022. Heavy online traffic and transactions could add up to a record $12 billion outlay by U.S. shoppers on Cyber Monday, according to Adobe Analytics. "You have consumers out there who are very price-sensitive and conscientious, and who want to make sure they get the very best possible deal." Walmart (WMT.N) , eager to capture market share, slashed prices on Sunday night, joining the trend of retailers' early discounts on major shopping days. Last-minute shoppers on Monday could spend $4 billion between 6 p.m. and 11 p.m.

Persons: Eduardo Munoz, Vivek Pandya, Pandya, Rob Garf, Garf, Vanessa O'Connell, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Workers, REUTERS, Adobe Analytics, Adobe Digital, Walmart, Adobe, Commerce, Thomson Locations: Robbinsville Township, New Jersey, U.S, Salesforce

☆ Shoppers click 'buy' as retailers slash prices ahead of Cyber Monday
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 26 (Reuters) - Holiday shoppers in the U.S. are seeking out the best deals and strategically nabbing the deepest discounts ahead of Cyber Monday, according to data from retailer websites aggregated by third parties. Cyber Monday, as the first Monday after the Thanksgiving holiday has become known as merchants step up online promotions, is set to be the biggest online shopping day of the year in the United States. Despite an earlier start to retailers' holiday promotions this year, there weren't a lot of great deals initially, Garf said. And "consumers clicked the buy button," spending $16.4 billion online in the U.S. and $70.9 billion globally that day, according to Salesforce. Other firms use different measurements to gauge online shopping patterns.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Rob Garf, Garf, Salesforce, Vivek Pandya, Pandya, Steve Sadove, It’s, Vanessa O'Connell, Leslie Adler Organizations: Westfield Shops, REUTERS, Commerce, U.S . Retailers, Adobe Digital, Adobe, Mastercard, Saks Inc, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, United States, Salesforce

☆ Black Friday sees record online sales of close to $10 billion, with more than half coming from mobile purchases
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-26 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

More than half of that revenue came from mobile purchases, an Adobe analyst told CNBC. "The paradigm has changed around the in-store Black Friday experience," he said. And more than half of that revenue, about $5.3 billion, came from mobile purchases, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights, Vivek Pandya, told CNBC. Adobe's report didn't track in-store retail purchases, but an analysis from Mastercard found that in-store purchases were up a little more than 1% from last year. Meanwhile, e-commerce sales jumped by 8.5%, showing once again that more shoppers are opting to make purchases online.

Persons: —, Vivek Pandya, they've, Pandya Organizations: Black, CNBC, Service, Adobe, Adobe Digital, Mastercard

☆ Black Friday shoppers spent a record $9.8 billion in U.S. online sales, up 7.5% from last year
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-25 | by ( Rebecca Picciotto | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Black Friday's spending spike reflects a consumer who is more willing to spend than in 2022, when gas and food prices were painfully high. Pandya noted that impulse purchases may have played a role in the Black Friday growth since $5.3 billion of the online sales came from mobile shopping. A Mastercard analysis of this year's Black Friday sales found that in-store sales rose just over 1% versus online sales, which grew by over 8% compared to last year. Black Friday kept the momentum going from the day before on Thanksgiving when online sales totaled $5.6 billion, according to a prior Adobe analysis. The report forecasts that online shoppers will spend roughly $10 billion over the course of Saturday and Sunday, and a record $12 billion on Cyber Monday.

Persons: they're, Vivek Pandya, Pandya Organizations: Woodbury, Adobe Analytics, Adobe Digital, Adobe, Mastercard, Target Locations: Lacoste, Central Valley , New York, U.S

Overall, Adobe estimates one in five Americans plan to use buy now, pay later plans to purchase holiday gifts. Retailers have found that customers offered a buy now, pay later option are more likely to have bigger cart sizes or to convert from browsing to checking out. In its report, the Fed cites research that finds that customers spend 20% more when buy now, pay later is available. LexisNexis Risk Solutions provides many buy now, pay later lenders with alternative credit scores for assessing consumers seeking loans, including those who may not have a traditional credit score. In the past two years, Williams has used buy now, pay later plans at stores including Target, BoxLunch, EyeBuyDirect, and Skims.

Persons: Vivek Pandya, Demishia Alford, Alford, “, ”, she’ll, I’ll, I’m, ” Kevin King, Kevin, ” Alford, Jessica Sarceda, ” Sarceda, Sarceda, Allison Williams, Williams, —, ” Jinal Shah, Charles Schwab Organizations: —, Federal Reserve Bank of New, Adobe, Adobe Digital, ”, Retailers, Fed, Consumers, Walmart, LexisNexis, Solutions, Nike, Target, Zip, Associated Press, Charles, Charles Schwab Foundation, Inc, AP Locations: Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Greensboro , North Carolina, Santa Monica , California, Amelia , Ohio

☆ This year’s Amazon Prime Day was the biggest in company history
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Consumers spent $12.7 billion across the web on July 11 and 12 during Amazon’s Prime Day sales, a 6.1% jump from a year ago, according to Adobe Analytics. Amazon said July 11 was the single largest sales day in the company’s history, but declined to provide totals. “Prime Day has become of one the biggest e-commerce moments of the year, as consumers latch onto major discounts from a number of different retailers,” said Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights. Amazon holds Prime Day in July every year to juice sales numbers during what are typically slow summer months. Since Prime Day began in 2015, other chains, like Walmart with its Walmart+ week and Best Buy with “Black Friday in July,” have also jumped in to capture shoppers’ spending during slow summer months.

Persons: ”, Vivek Pandya, Doug Anmuth Organizations: New, New York CNN, Amazon’s, Adobe Analytics, Walmart, Target, Amazon, Adobe, “, Adobe Digital Locations: New York

Amazon said over the two-day event, Prime members bought more than 375 million items worldwide and saved more than $2.5 billion on several deals, making it the biggest Prime Day event ever. The second day saw an increase in sale of back-to-school items including stationary and office supplies, said Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights. Online sales on July 12 for appliances were up 52% compared to average daily sales in June, while apparel was up 24% and stationary and office supplies was up 76%. On the second day, consumers were most enticed by 14% discount for electronics and 12% for apparel and toys, Adobe said. Amazon has also offered for the first time Prime Day travel discount, partnering with travel booking site Priceline, while its loyalty program members were also given access to "invite-only deals" in the weeks leading up to Prime Day.

Persons: Vivek Pandya, Pandya, Amazon, Granth, Arun Koyyur Organizations: Adobe, Shoppers, Adobe Digital, Walmart, Target, Thomson Locations: Coventry, Britain, Bengaluru

Online sales for appliances jumped 37% compared to average daily sales in June, while sales of toys rose 27%. Data firm Numerator said the average Prime Day spend per order rose to $56.64 from $53.14 a year ago. Rival retailers, including Walmart (WMT.N), Target (TGT.N) and Best Buy (BBY.N), are also offering large discounts during the Prime Day week. Data from Deloitte showed 69% of shoppers planned to rely on Prime Day sale for back-to-school purchases. Meanwhile, nearly 900 Amazon workers at a warehouse in Coventry, in Britain are striking over a pay dispute for three days from July 11-13, coinciding with the Prime Day sales event.

Persons: Vivek Pandya, Adobe's Pandey, Granth Vanaik, Ananya Mariam Rajesh, Arun Koyyur Organizations: Amazon, Walmart, Adobe, Insights, Apparel, Deloitte, Thomson Locations: Coventry, Britain, Bengaluru

☆ Forget luxury goods, US shoppers are now using buy-now-pay-later services to pay for groceries
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Mary Hanbury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

New data shows that US shoppers are increasingly using buy-now-pay-later services to buy groceries. Historically, these services have been used as a way to cover the cost of non-essential or pricier items – like luxury goods, for example. While the number of online purchases made using BNPL services grew in the last two months, revenue fell by 19% year-over-year — indicating that customers are using these services for cheaper items. A spokesperson for Klarna did not comment on whether it has seen an uptick in its users using BNPL for grocery shopping when contacted by Insider. This includes cutting back on non-essential items, trading down from pricier products to store own brands, shopping at cheaper chains, and now, using BNPL services in different ways.

☆ From groceries to clothes, inflation-weary Americans flock to cheaper products online
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Across 11 categories of e-commerce, high-priced goods have lost meaningful market share to low-cost ones, according to Adobe. As of the end of February this year, these pricier products make up just 7% of the market, according to Adobe. In online groceries, the most expensive tier of products has gone from 24.5% of the market in January 2019 to 9% now. The cheapest tier of online groceries has grown in market share by 13 percentage points to nearly half the market, Adobe said. The most expensive tier of online toys has gone from 25% of the market four years ago to 13% today.

☆ Encouraging inflation news: Online prices keep dropping
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

For many years, online prices did nothing but fall as e-commerce was immune to inflationary pressures. That changed following the start of the Covid-19 pandemic as strong demand and supply chain trouble lifted online prices. “When online prices began dropping over the summer, our thinking was that one month could be a fluke, but two months could be a trend,” Pandya said. Although online prices fell on an annual basis, Adobe said they increased by 1.1% between November and December. Asked if online prices are getting back to their normal pre-Covid trends, Pandya said prices for some categories like groceries and apparel remain hot, while others such as electronics are experiencing consistent price drops.

☆ A 'returns tsunami' is about to deal a crippling blow to retailers
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Avery Hartmans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

At the same time, retailers are bracing for a "returns tsunami" likely to hit in the next two weeks. "'More returns than ever' is the headline," said David Sobie, vice president of Happy Returns, which helps process and consolidate returns for retailers. A November Happy Returns consumer survey found that a third of shoppers planned to bracket heading into the holidays. Retailers have been dealing with high inventory since spring 2022George Frey/Getty ImagesBut even before this "tsunami" of returns hits, retailers were already dealing with too much inventory. But according to Baker, even with all those discounts, retailers' inventory troubles aren't over quite yet.

☆ Heavy discounts drive record U.S. online holiday spending, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 5 (Reuters) - U.S. online spending during the 2022 holiday season rose by a better-than-expected 3.5%, a report by Adobe Analytics showed, as retailers used hefty discounts to lure inflation-weary consumers into spending on everything from toys to electronics. Shoppers spent a record $211.7 billion online over the holiday season, which typically starts in November and ends in December, compared with an earlier forecast of $209.7 billion, the report showed on Thursday. While U.S. online holiday sales rose, it grew at the slowest pace as consumers felt the brunt of rising prices. Majority of the discounts were for toys, where discounts peaked at 34% off listed price versus 19% last year, as well as electronics that saw discounts as high as 25% compared with 8% last year, according to the report. A big chunk of the holiday sales came during the Cyber Week - the five days between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday - where consumers spent a total of $35.3 billion online, the report said.

Consumers took advantage of heavy discounting by online retailers to kick off the holiday shopping season in high gear. According to Adobe Analytics, record online spending on Thanksgiving and Black Friday drove Cyber Week — Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday — to $35 billion in total sales. Even with inflation looming in the background, consumers were motivated by the hunt for deals, Adobe Analytics said. While the company's figures are not adjusted for inflation, even if online inflation were factored in, there would still be growth in underlying consumer demand, it said. Consumers have shown their willingness to keep shopping, thanks in part to the resilience of their pandemic savings.

☆ American consumers got holiday shopping off to a strong start
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Shoppers returned to physical stores on Black Friday after avoiding much of in-person shopping the last two holidays due to Covid-19 concerns. Cyber Monday is the biggest online shopping day of the year, and this year set a new annual sales record. “It spurred online spending to levels that were higher than expected.”Retailers have dangled promotions to drive consumer demand and unload excess inventory. Consumers making more than $100,000 a year drove spending over the holiday weekend, Shay said on a call with reporters Tuesday. Overall, the National Retail Federation projects holiday sales to increase up to 8% from a year ago.

☆ Death of the doorbuster: Black Friday shatters online shopping record with more than $9 billion in sales as in-store participation wanes
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( Bethany Biron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Black Friday online sales reached a record-high of $9.12 billion, according to Adobe Analytics. Adobe said online sales growth was driven by increased use of buy-now-pay-later options. Black Friday shoppers shattered online sales records this year, reaching $9.12 billion, up from 2.3% in 2021, according to Adobe Analytics data. Electronics largely led online sales growth, alongside other top categories like audio equipment, toys, and exercise equipment, the findings showed. Looking ahead, Adobe predicts additional growth on Cyber Monday, still the biggest online shopping event of the season, with a forecast of $34.8 billion in online sales, up 2.8% from last year.

☆ Black Friday online shopping will hit a new record this year, even though consumers headed back to physical stores as the pandemic waned
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The day of Thanksgiving is growing as a shopping holiday, eating into Black Friday sales. Last year, the online total for the same shopping day was $8.92 billion. People spent $5.29 billion shopping online on Thursday, an increase of 2.9% from last year and an all-time high, according to Adobe. The rise of Thanksgiving as a shopping holiday and retailers releasing discounts on goods earlier and earlier may be affecting Black Friday's dominance. Cyber Monday is still expected to be the biggest online shopping day of the holiday season and the year.

☆ Black Friday online sales to hit record despite high inflation -Adobe Analytics
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 25 (Reuters) - U.S. online spending is expected to set a record for Black Friday, according to Adobe Analytics, as steep discounts lured consumers against the backdrop of high inflation, kicking off the year's biggest shopping event on a strong note. Initial numbers from Adobe Analytics, the data and insights arm of software company Adobe Inc (ADBE.O), showed shoppers are expected to spend between $9 billion and $9.2 billion online on Friday, topping its forecast for a modest 1% rise to $9 billion. As of 6 p.m. EST (2300 GMT) on Friday, Adobe data showed shoppers spent an estimated $7.28 billion online. More Americans placed orders through their smartphones over the holiday, with mobile shopping expected to drive 53% of Black Friday online sales. "As Black Friday discounts transition to being pre-Cyber Monday discounts, we expect online spending momentum to continue through the weekend."

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