Record Black Friday Sales: 14% Growth To $7.2B In Digital Revenue

Updated Dec 2: Salesforce updated the percentage of orders received over mobile from 65% to 56%; I’ve reflected the change in the article below.

Black Friday was a record-setting day for US-based digital retail, according to Salesforce, which tracks sales to more than 500 million shoppers in 30 countries.

Thanksgiving sales were up as well, passing $4.4 billion.

2019 Black Friday saw $7.2 billion in digital sales in the U.S. alone. That’s up 14% over last year. Globally, Salesforce says sales hit $20 billion as other countries participate in Black Friday sales, even if they don’t have a U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.

Mobile orders are up too — sharply.

Mobile accounted for almost half of all e-commerce on Thanksgiving Day itself, and on Black Friday mobile surpassed the 50% mark. According to Salesforce, 56% of all digital orders on Black Friday were consummated on a mobile device.

That’s up a massive 35% from last year.

Shoppers are ready to transition toward a mobile-only reality and that mobile is becoming the driver for multichannel and multi-touchpoint engagements.

So what are people buying? According to Salesforce, the most-talked-about brands are technology brands. That’s based on social mentions, so it may not correlate directly to sales:

1. PlayStation
2. Nintendo
3. Apple
4. Xbox
5. Google

The top five most-talked-about retailers, however, are the usual suspects, led by the two of largest retail giants on the planet:

1. Amazon
2. Walmart
3. Target
4. Gamestop
5. Best Buy

Salesforce estimates that total online sales will be up 15% this holiday season. If that happens, online sales will hit $768 billion globally. Cyber Monday is yet to come, of course, but should hit $32 billion.