U.S. Holiday Online Sales Hit Record $241.4 Billion, Driven by Mobile and AI Shopping Tools

E-commerce spending grew 8.7% year-over-year as smartphones and AI-powered chatbots transformed consumer shopping behavior.

Mobile devices accounted for 54.5% of online purchases, with smartphone transactions peaking at 65% on Christmas Day.
Generative AI-powered chatbots drove a 1,300% increase in retail site traffic, with Cyber Monday seeing a 1,950% surge in chatbot-influenced clicks.
Top product categories—electronics, apparel, and furniture/home goods—contributed to over half of total sales, with cosmetics seeing the largest year-over-year growth at 12.2%.
Buy Now, Pay Later services hit a record $18.2 billion in transactions, with nearly 80% of these purchases made via smartphones.
Discounts significantly influenced consumer behavior, increasing demand by 1,029% for every 1% price reduction and encouraging purchases of higher-priced items.