Salesforce says online spending rose 3% to a record $1.2 million during the holiday season

Online spending during the holiday period rose 3% globally to $1.2 trillion, with sales in the US notably up 4% to $282 billion.

that’s it according to a new report Gain insights into spending activity from November 1 to December 31, 2024, covering 1.5 billion buyers in dozens of countries from Salesforce, which integrates data across multiple cloud services, including Agentforce, Commerce Cloud, Marketing Cloud, and Service Cloud .

Overall, the numbers are slightly lower than Salesforce’s forecast: there was predicted online sales increase 2% ($1.19 trillion) during the holiday season. Despite this shortcoming, the marquee dates saw outstanding performances: Black Friday operations increased by 5% the record reached 74.4 billion dollars Cyber ​​Monday sales It increased by 3% and reached 49.7 billion dollars. And Thanksgiving achieved worldwide sales of 33.6 billion dollarsincreased by 6%.

There’s another trend that could push those numbers down: a higher-than-normal rate of return. Salesforce said consumers have already received $122 billion in refunds from merchandise returned to retailers. According to the report, this is 28% more than last year, and as a result, this figure may increase to 133 billion dollars.

Caila Schwartz, Salesforce’s director of consumer insights, says that’s “worrying,” though she adds that other forces may be helping offset those drags. Indeed, Salesforce one a lot on the market building artificial intelligence solutions for retailers – that AI investments by retailers will lead to lower operating costs and more personalized and engaging sales channels for customers. Salesforce says AI and agents Vacation spending was up 6% year-over-year, with $229 billion of “impact” through targeted offers, personalized support and product recommendations. Adoption of AI-powered customer service, in particular, increased by 42%.

“Retailers adopting AI and agents are already seeing the benefits, but these tools will be even more critical in the new year as retailers aim to minimize revenue losses and reconnect with shoppers,” Schwartz said.