Online sales surge to record-setting $10.8B on Black Friday as stores see thin crowds

Americans let their fingers do the shopping on Black Friday, as online spending soared to a record-setting $10.8 billion. That haul included a breathtaking $11.3 million spent every minute between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on the day after Thanksgiving, with most shoppers using their phones, not PCs, to hunt down holiday bargains, according to data provided by Adobe Analytics. Many of the spend-happy let artificial intelligence help them with their gift list. Generative AI-powered chat bots had a huge influence on shoppers, Adobe said, with traffic to retail sites...