Black Friday online sales in the US reached a record high this year, surging almost 24% when compared with 2017, to $6.22 billion, according to US media which quoted Adobe Analytics, a company that tracks transactions for 80 of the top 100 internet retailers in the US, including Walmart and Amazon.
Cyber Monday sales online are expected to set a new record of $7.8 billion, up nearly 18% from last year.
The Friday after Thanksgiving this year was also the first time in sales stemming from smartphones surpassed $2 billion. Adobe found that 33.5% of e-commerce sales on Black Friday came from mobile devices, compared with 29.1% in 2017.
‘Buy online pick up in stores’ continued to be a popular option for shoppers in the US holiday season, with "click-and-collect" orders up 73% from Thursday to Friday, Adobe said.
Meanwhile, shoppers were seen buying more ‘big-ticket’ items like appliances, furniture and bulkier electronics from their phones Black Friday, with average order values up 8.5% year over year to reach $146, Adobe's data showed.
Earlier in the week, sales online on Thanksgiving Day totaled $3.7 billion, up 28% from a year ago, making it the fastest-growing day for e-commerce sales in history.
For the first time, according to Adobe, online prices Thanksgiving Day "were as low as on Black Friday" – potentially stealing some of Black Friday's traditional throngs of shoppers at malls and other stores. There were reports that traffic at many shopping malls Friday was lighter than in past years with more consumers turning to their phones or desktop computers in search of good deals.
Meanwhile in Europe, workers at Amazon logistic centres in Germany and Spain walked off the job on Black Friday over pay and working conditions.
One report quoted Amazon Germany who said that around 620 workers were participating in the strikes at its Bad Hersfeld and Rheinberg facilities but the majority of employees were continuing to work and there was no impact on customer orders.
The Verdi services labour union in Germany had called for Amazon workers to stage industrial action for 24-hour period until midnight on Friday, to demand higher pay and better contracts that guarantee healthy working conditions.
"We are entering the end of year spurt, the most stressful time for employees," said Verdi representative Mechthild Middeke. "Especially on a day like Black Friday, employees should be the central focus."
But Amazon Germany said its jobs offered competitive pay and comprehensive benefits from the first day of employment.
Verdi has led a long and to date unsuccessful campaign to secure a collective bargaining agreement for Amazon workers in which pay levels reflects retail and mail order rates.
In Spain, staff at Amazon's biggest warehouse in the country, located in San Fernando de Henares, went on strike last Friday and Saturday. Unions said between 85 and 90% of staff took part in the stoppage. However, Amazon Spain claimed these figures were misleading and that a majority of employees were at their posts.
In the UK, the GMB labour union staged Black Friday protests "in anger at inhuman conditions people work under at the company's warehouses".
It bases its claims on a Freedom of Information disclosure that revealed ambulances had been called to Amazon warehouse facilities 600 times over three years.
In a statement ahead of the industrial action, it said it expected hundreds of workers to demonstrate at the retail giant's warehouses in Rugeley, Swansea, Peterborough, Milton Keynes and Warrington.
At the time of writing the union had not provided details of turnout so far.
Amazon countered the claims of mistreatment of workers by saying it had created 25,000 jobs with a good level of pay in the UK.
Another report highlighted protests by Amazon workers in Spain, France and Italy. But when quizzed about this Amazon denied there had been any impact on its European Fulfilment Network which was "fully operational and we continue to focus on delivering for our customers. Any reports to the contrary are simply wrong”.
