On Friday, Black Friday shoppers stop by Macy’s at Walden Galleria in Buffalo, NY.

Gene J. Puskar/AP

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Gene J. Puskar/AP

Many shoppers left the mall crowds on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, and spent more money online than ever before. And major retailers relied on deep discounts to attract significant traffic.

Shoppers spent a record $10.8 billion online on Friday, up more than 10% from last Black Friday, according to data from Adobe Analytics, which tracks retail transactions. That’s more than double what consumers spent in 2017.

According to Adobe, online shoppers spent about $11.3 million per minute between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

“Passing the $10 billion mark is a big e-commerce milestone for Black Friday, for a day that has historically been more focused on in-store shopping,” said Vivek Pandya, senior analyst at Adobe Digital Insights, in a statement.

More and more people have become comfortable with shopping on smartphones—and with the use of mobile wallets, buy now, pay later options, and AI-powered chatbots that serve as shopping assistants to help consumers find specific items. According to Pandya, adoption of these digital shopping tools is providing a “tailwind that can drive online growth for Black Friday in the future.”

Globally, 69% of all Black Friday purchases occurred on mobile devices, up from 68% in 2023, software company Salesforce reported.

This year there are fewer crowds in stores

While people stayed home to click the buy button, stores were emptier than at past Black Friday events. According to Sensormatic Solutions, which tracks foot traffic in retail stores, customer traffic in stores fell 8.2% on Friday compared to 2023.

Shoppers were more willing to wait in line at stores that offered steep discounts. Retailers that cut prices by at least 40% lured shoppers to brick-and-mortar stores, Michael Brown, a partner at consulting firm Kearney, told The Associated Press. Forever 21, for example, which offered 50 to 70 percent discounts, drew lines into its stores, according to Brown. Fast fashion competitor H&M, however, caused less of a stir with its 30 percent discount.

On Black Friday, Adobe said its most popular purchases included: makeup and skin care products, hair care products, Bluetooth speakers and headphones, smartwatches, jewelry, clothing, fragrances, bedding and linens, televisions, gift cards and espresso machines .

While higher costs and inflation lead to higher sales, Adobe said Friday featured deeper discounts than expected across all product categories.

Some of the biggest deals take place on Monday

The shopping frenzy is likely to peak on Monday – retail analysts expect Cyber ​​Monday to remain the biggest shopping day of the season and year. Adobe forecasts a record $13.2 billion in spending on the day, up 6% from last year.

Patience will pay off for people who want to buy electronics and clothing. According to Adobe, Monday discounts in these categories will peak at 30% and 23%, respectively.