Black Friday Hits $11.8B Online as Shoppers Choose the Couch Over the Crowds

American consumers went on a shopping rampage this Black Friday — but mostly from their couches. According to Adobe Analytics, U.S. online shoppers spent a record-breaking $11.8 billion on November 29, 2025. That's up from $10.8 billion last year, and the pace was wild: between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. alone, people were spending a staggering $12.5 million every minute.


Why the surge? For one, more consumers seem happy to skip the chaos of crowded stores. Adobe suggests that this Black Friday has "become a major e-commerce moment," as people opt to stay home and hunt for deals online.

The frenzy isn't expected to slow down either — as of now, analysts are expecting Cyber Monday (happening December 1) to surpass even this record, with projected online sales around $14.2 billion.

But the numbers aren't just about volume. The spike in online spending is part of a broader shift in how people shop this holiday season. Adobe projects total U.S. holiday spending will reach $253.4 billion this year — up from $241.1 billion in 2024.

Meanwhile, Salesforce, which tracked $79 billion in global Black Friday sales (about $18 billion of that from U.S. shoppers), notes that rising prices — not necessarily high demand — are driving the higher spending. They saw average price increases around 7%, while the average number of items per order actually dropped slightly.

Both Adobe and Salesforce point out another interesting trend: the growing influence of AI in holiday shopping. Smart price trackers, recommendation engines and shopping assistants are increasingly shaping how people browse and buy — an undercurrent that may well reframe future holiday retail events.

So if you thought Black Friday was just a flurry of chaos and physical queues — think again. This year it looks like Black Friday took over living rooms across the U.S., and the holiday shopping season is now fully digital.

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