Adobe Analytics Report Shows Promising Consumer Purchasing Trends

Going into this holiday season, many merchants have wondered how willing consumers will be to part with their hard-earned dollars. According to Retail Dive, a recent Adobe Analytics report shows good news for e-commerce this holiday season.


The report shows consumers are "managing their holiday budgets and taking advantage of early deals." Even before the holidays kick in, "consumers drove $76.8 billion in online sales in October", which is $4.3 billion better than last year.

In addition, mobile shopping jumped 46.7% year over year to $35.9 billion, and buy now, pay later transactions saw a 6% increase from last year to $6.4 billion for the month.

The report also indicates that online prices were 6% lower than in October 2022 and curbside pickup accounted for 18% of online order fulfillment.

Adobe's research suggests retailers have gone all-in with discounts to attract customers who are conscious of their budgets.

The report tracks several categories and shows that during the month of October, apparel saw the biggest discounts at 12%, followed by electronics at 9%, sporting goods at 7%, appliances at 6%, and home furniture and toys at 5%.

The lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights, Vivek Pandya, said in a statement. "Despite the uncertainty in the macro-environment, Adobe Analytics data has shown that the consumer remains resilient heading into the big holiday season . . ."

Although these numbers are promising, the e-commerce growth rate is expected to be slightly lower in November and December. Adobe predicted last month that online sales would reach $221.8 billion between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31, which is still 4.8% higher than last year.

The good news for consumers is that retailers are expected to continue offering attractive discounts during this period, including up to 35% for toys, 25% for apparel, and 30% for electronics. Sounds like a little something for almost everybody.

Some reports indicate overall retail sales growth will be minimal, but e-commerce is going to be doing well, with some predictions suggesting that online sales could rise between 10.3% and 12.8% higher than last year.

The takeaway is that despite rising interest rates, higher food and fuel prices, and the cost of breathing in general, consumers are finding a way to spend money this holiday season, and it seems that some online retailers are meeting them halfway.