US Online Holiday Sales Likely to Surpass $250B Amid Sharp Discounts

US e-commerce sales will grow this holiday season as consumers take advantage of “significant” discounts retailers will implement to enhance competition, according to Adobe.

Sales are likely to rise 5.3% year on year to $253.4 billion over the November-to-December period, the company predicted in its annual holiday shopping forecast Monday. However, that improvement is lower than the record 8.7% year-on-year increase to $241.4  billion seen last year.

The company anticipates Cyber Monday will be the biggest shopping day of the season — and of the year — with sales up 6.3% to $14.2 billion. By comparison, Black Friday spending is set to climb 8.3% to $11.7 billion and Thanksgiving sales to grow 4.9% to $6.4 billion. This year, consumers will shell out over $5 billion in a single day for a record 10 days, compared to seven in 2024. Cyber Week is expected to drive 17.2% of overall spend this season, up 6.3% year on year to $43.7 billion.

Adobe forecasts “significant” discounts during the festive period, of up to 28% off listed price, it said. Electronics and toys will likely have the biggest discounts, followed by apparel, TVs, computers, sporting goods, appliances and furniture. Three categories will drive over half of online spend this season — electronics, furniture and apparel, which includes jewelry, Adobe reported.

Meanwhile, another Prime Day is scheduled for October 7 to 8, which will help entice consumers into early shopping. The latest edition took place this year in July for an extended four-day period. The shopping event, which Amazon introduced but US retailers have broadly adopted, is expected to bring in $9 billion, a 6.2% increase from last year, Adobe added.

Image: Holiday shopping. (Shutterstock)