• by Ray Schultz , November 29, 2019

Thanksgiving was a bonanza day for both large and small retailers -- together, they racked up $4.2 billion in sales, a 14.5% increase YoY, according to tracking by Adobe Analytics. This year marks the first time Thanksgiving sales topped $4 billion.

Email’s share of Thanksgiving Day revenue was 9.4%, and it ranks with social media as one of the two fastest-growing channels.

Paid search generated 24% of all purchases, and social represented 20%. Smartphones drove 44.9% of all revenue, a 24.4% increase over the prior year and a 30.5% hike over the season-to-date.

The biggest winners were ecommerce giants, with over $1 billion in annual revenue — they saw a 244% sales in increase, versus 61% for businesses with $50 million in annual sales. 

Adobe adds that as forecast, all 28 days in November have surpassed $1 billion in online sales and that nine days exceeded $2 billion.   

The hottest toys on Thanksgiving were Frozen 2, L.O.L., Surprise Dolls, and Nerf. The leading video games were Madden 20, Jedi Fallen Order, and NBA 2k20, and the best-selling electronics: Fire TV, Apple Laptops, and HP Laptops. 

“By stepping up discounts and awareness of Thanksgiving sales, large retailers were able to unlock a 3x boost in revenue that contributed to a total $4.2 Billion Dollars (14.5% growth YoY) in spend,” states Jason Woosley, vice president of commerce product & platform at Adobe.

Woosley adds: “Don’t expect the momentum to slow down anytime soon; with $7.5 billion in online spend projected for Black Friday, it’s clear that the largest dollar gains for retailers and shoppers have yet to come.”