What: For the first time in nearly a decade, e-commerce spending on Black Friday in the US fell from the previous year, dipping slightly to USD 8.9 billion, down from USD 9 billion in 2020, while sales on Thanksgiving day remained flat year-over-year, according to preliminary data from Adobe.

Why it is important: For many brands, consumers were encouraged to shop earlier than usual to reduce the strain on their supply chains. The strategy appears to have worked: Adobe says retailers are still on track for a 10% year-over-year increase in holiday spending.

American retailers saw 21% fewer visits to stores between Friday and Sunday compared with the same period in 2019, according to RetailNext, an analytics company. In-store sales fell just five%, reflecting higher prices.

But some of those missing dollars were spent earlier in November. Between 1 and 28 November, consumers spent USD 99 billion online, up 13.6% year-over-year and 47%compared to the same period in 2019.

Some retailers did see a Black Friday bump though. Sephora and Ulta saw their traffic spike more than 20% and 10%, respectively, compared to Black Friday two years ago, according to early traffic data firm Placer.Ai, while off-price chains like T.J. Maxx and Ross Stores posted single-digit increases.

Meanwhile, Kohl’s and Nordstrom Rack were among the brands that saw traffic fall compared to 2019. Overall mall traffic dipped as well.

The lack of inventory and ensuing high prices have resulted in the lowest levels of promotions in years. Average markdowns among mid-range luxury fashion retailers so far this quarter dipped to 28% from 55% in the fourth quarter of 2019, research firm Cowen found.

Making Sense of This Year’s Black Friday Sales