More than $1 billion have been spent so far by Thanksgiving online shoppers on Thursday. Of the 100 million visits to about 4,500 retail sites tracked by software firm Adobe, 26 percent of online purchases were made using mobile phones.
The growing reliance on mobile devices indicate the changes in the way that the annual Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday, Cyber Sunday and Cyber Monday sales are being made by American consumers known for their love for bargains. The average discount is 24 percent, according to WFMY News 2.
Tamara Gaffney, principal analyst of Adobe, says that stronger-than-expected toy sales because of Star War items and more shopping through email promotion would likely result in a 22 percent boost in Thanksgiving Day sales compared to 12 months ago and reach $1.7 billion. She expects online sales "to trend ahead of expectation as we head into the evening hours, when mobile shopping comes back into the mix," reports Techcrunch.
IBM, which also tracks sales, notes that average value per online order is $142.55, up from 2014's $125.25 and 2013's $132. The numbers are significantly higher compared to Wednesday online sales that averaged only $9.10.
The numbers indicate not only more people doing their Thanksgiving bargain-hunting online but also a higher amount of order placed. By type of mobile device used, Adobe says 15 percent were smartphones and 11 percent tablets.
Besides the Star Wars toys, other bestsellers include the Pie Face Game, Crayola Super Art Coloring Kit, Samsung 4K TVs, Apple iPad Air 2, Xbox One, Sony Playstation and Beats by Dr. Dre headphones.