Were you surprised that Influencer Marketing and Generative AI stood out in the Adobe Holiday Forecast? Nope. Me Neither. Here are the 5 highlights I think are worth sharing.

1️⃣ Record $240.8 Billion U.S. Holiday Online Spend: Adobe forecasts U.S. e-commerce sales to hit $240.8 billion for the 2024 holiday season, an 8.4% year-over-year (YoY) increase, driven mainly by strong discounts and mobile shopping.

2️⃣ Mobile Shopping to Dominate: Mobile shopping will account for a record $128.1 billion, making up 53.2% of total online spend, with significant growth in Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services.

3️⃣ Black Friday Growth Outpacing Cyber Monday: Black Friday is expected to grow 9.9% YoY, surpassing Cyber Monday’s 6.1% growth, with Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday seeing more consumer attention than ever.

4️⃣ Influencers Driving 10x More Purchases: Influencer marketing is expected to drive 10x more conversions than traditional social media, signaling a major shift in how consumers discover products.

5️⃣ Generative AI’s Growing Role in Shopping: Traffic to retail sites from generative AI-powered chatbots doubled in 2024, with 2 in 5 consumers planning to use AI to enhance their holiday shopping experience.