Black Friday Data Shows US Shoppers Spent $10.8 Bln Online

A woman and a child look at shops in a mall on Black Friday in Arlington, Virginia on November 29, 2024. (AFP)
A woman and a child look at shops in a mall on Black Friday in Arlington, Virginia on November 29, 2024. (AFP)
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Black Friday Data Shows US Shoppers Spent $10.8 Bln Online

A woman and a child look at shops in a mall on Black Friday in Arlington, Virginia on November 29, 2024. (AFP)
A woman and a child look at shops in a mall on Black Friday in Arlington, Virginia on November 29, 2024. (AFP)

US shoppers used their mobile phones, laptops, desktops and other devices to make roughly $10.8 billion in purchases online on Black Friday, an updated tally from Adobe Analytics showed.

Black Friday, the day after American Thanksgiving, marks the official start of the holiday shopping season for retailers and competition has intensified among retailers to win every penny-pinched shopper seeking discounts.

Increased online shopping potentially favors e-commerce giants such as Amazon.com and Walmart. Walmart, which operates 4,700 US stores, has invested heavily in store-to-home deliveries for the holiday season to boost e-commerce.

US spending online on Black Friday rose 10.2%, said Adobe, which keeps track of devices that use its software to help power more than 1 trillion visits to  US retail sites.

Corey Coscioni, 58, said he looked for bargains online as well as in stores on Black Friday, seeking "gifts for everyone: my wife, my daughter, and myself."

Top selling merchandise online included makeup, skincare and haircare products, as well as bluetooth speakers and espresso machines, Adobe said on Saturday.

Online sales of toys rose 622% compared to average daily sales in October, while jewelry sales rose 561% and appliances spiked 476% compared to October, it added.

Department store chains such as Macy's and Kohl's as well as big-box retailer Target could see muted sales this season, which is shorter with only 26 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

In 2023, US shoppers spent $9.8 billion online on Black Friday, and in 2022, they spent $9.1 billion, Adobe said.



Gold Steady as Market Eyes Middle East Conflict, Fed Decision

FILE PHOTO: An employee places ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold in a workroom at the Novosibirsk precious metals refining and manufacturing plant in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, Russia, September 15, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: An employee places ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold in a workroom at the Novosibirsk precious metals refining and manufacturing plant in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, Russia, September 15, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk/File Photo
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Gold Steady as Market Eyes Middle East Conflict, Fed Decision

FILE PHOTO: An employee places ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold in a workroom at the Novosibirsk precious metals refining and manufacturing plant in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, Russia, September 15, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: An employee places ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold in a workroom at the Novosibirsk precious metals refining and manufacturing plant in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, Russia, September 15, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk/File Photo

Gold prices were steady on Tuesday as investors assessed the conflict between Israel and Iran and looked ahead to this week's US Federal Reserve's policy meeting.

Spot gold was steady at $3,383.01 an ounce, as of 0851 GMT US gold futures fell 0.5% to $3,401.30.

Israel and Iran exchanged attacks for a fifth consecutive day on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

US President Donald Trump urged an evacuation of Iran's capital Tehran and cut short his trip to the G7 summit in Canada. A separate report said he had asked for his administration's National Security Council to be prepared in the situation room.

"Markets are waiting for the latest signals whether hostilities between Israel and Iran would escalate or will remain contained," said Han Tan, chief market analyst at Exinity Group.

"Gold still retains its bias for lurching upwards on signs of a worsening Middle East conflict, given the precious metal's stature as the preferred safe haven of late."

Zero-yield bullion is considered a hedge against geopolitical and economic uncertainty and tends to thrive in a low-interest environment.

The US central bank rate decision and Chair Jerome Powell's remarks are due on Wednesday. Traders are currently pricing in two cuts by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, Citi lowered its short-term and long-term price targets for gold, projecting prices could drop below $3,000 per ounce by late 2025 or early 2026, driven by declining investment demand and an improving global growth outlook, it said in a note on Monday.

Elsewhere, spot silver was up 0.3% at $36.45 per ounce, platinum was unchanged at $1,246.59, while palladium fell 0.4% to $1,025.44.