Online spending during the holiday period rose 3% to a record $1.2 trillion globally, with US-sales in particular up 4% to $282 billion.
That's it According to a new report. Agentforce Commerce Cloud; From Salesforce, which aggregates data from its various cloud services, including Marketing Cloud and Service Cloud; November 1 to December 31 It collects insights into the spending of 1.5 billion shoppers from dozens of countries through 2024.
In general, The numbers fell slightly short of Salesforce's estimates: It has. Estimated. 2% of online sales during the holiday season ($1.19 trillion). Although it is less, The marquee dates saw a special treat: Black Friday deals 5% increase It reached a record 74.4 billion dollars. Cyber Monday sales It grew 3% to $49.7 billion. Give thanks. Worldwide sales generated $33.6 billion.6% up.
There's another current that can lower these numbers: higher than normal rates of return. Salesforce says that consumers have already recouped $122 billion from merchandise resold to retailers. That's up 28 percent from last year and could eventually rise to $133 billion, the report said.
That's “cause for concern,” says Caila Schwartz, Salesforce director of consumer insights, but she adds that other forces could help offset that pull. indeed, Salesforce one of A lot in the market Building AI solutions for retailers — The benefits of AI investments retailers make will lower operational costs and lead to more personalized and engaging sales channels for customers. Salesforce and AI agents targeted offers; Holiday spending “influenced” to $229 billion through personalized support and product recommendations, up 6% year-over-year. In particular, AI-enabled customer service acquisition rose 42%.
“Retailers embracing AI and agents are already seeing the benefits, but these tools will become even more important in the new year as retailers aim to drive returns and re-engage with shoppers,” Schwartz said.