The Surge in Global Online Spending: A Holiday Season Analysis
The holiday season has set a new benchmark for global online spending, reaching an impressive $1.2 trillion. In the U.S. alone, online sales saw a robust 4% growth, totaling $282 billion. According to a recent report from Salesforce, which analyzed data from its cloud services like Agentforce, Commerce Cloud, Marketing Cloud, and Service Cloud, this trend encompassed 1.5 billion shoppers from November 1 to December 31, 2024.
While these numbers are impressive, they slightly missed Salesforce’s earlier prediction of a 2% growth, aiming for $1.19 trillion in sales. Despite this shortfall, certain days stood out remarkably: Black Friday transactions surged by 5% to hit a record $74.4 billion, Cyber Monday sales jumped 3% to $49.7 billion, and Thanksgiving recorded a 6% increase in global sales, totaling $33.6 billion.
However, there’s a flip side to this success—an unusually high rate of merchandise returns. Consumers have already returned goods worth $122 billion to retailers, marking a significant 28% rise from the previous year. This figure is projected to climb further to $133 billion.
“This is a cause for concern,” mentions Caila Schwartz, Salesforce’s director of consumer insights. However, she also notes that other factors could help counterbalance these challenges.
{Caila Schwartz}
One such factor is the growing role of AI in retail—a domain where Salesforce is actively innovating. AI investments are expected to lower operational costs and offer more personalized shopping experiences. Notably, AI and agents influenced holiday spending by $229 billion through targeted offers and personalized support—an increase of 6% compared to last year.
Furthermore, AI-powered customer service adoption has risen by 42%, indicating a shift towards more efficient engagement strategies.
“Retailers who have embraced AI and agents are already seeing the benefits,” says Schwartz. “These tools will be even more critical in the new year as retailers aim to minimize revenue losses on returns and reengage with shoppers.”
{Caila Schwartz}
- Global online spending hit $1.2 trillion during the holiday season
- U.S.-specific sales grew by 4%, totaling $282 billion
- Black Friday and Cyber Monday reached record sales figures
- High return rates pose challenges but are offset by AI advancements
In conclusion, while the surge in online holiday spending is impressive, retailers need to tackle the rising tide of returns intelligently. Leveraging AI technologies offers a promising path forward to enhance customer experience and maintain revenue growth.
