Inflation and early purchases will slow US Christmas spending: Adobe

Las internet christmas sales Prices in the United States are expected to rise this year at their slowest pace since at least 2015, according to a report, as buyers are hit by multi-decade high inflation and rising interest rates.

Adobe Analytics Online sales in November and December are forecast to rise 2.5% to $209.7 billion, up from 8.6% a year ago, as more people return to stores and bring purchases forward to October.

This is another sign of a gloomy holiday season, as the ground transportation division of FedEx Corp expects to lower volume forecasts to reflect customers’ plans to ship fewer Christmas packages. Last month, Mastercard’s SpendingPulse report also forecast a slowdown in holiday shopping.

With annual inflation running at 8.3% in August, Americans have been forced to cut back on discretionary purchases, while aggressive interest rate hikes from the US Federal Reserve are expected to weigh on purchasing power further.

This is a radically different year than even any of the COVID-19 fluctuations we’ve seen in the past,” said Adobe Digital Insights Senior Director Taylor Schreiner.

“As the cost of basic goods like food and gasoline goes up, consumers become much more price-conscious … and that influences consumers’ plans to wait for discounts and buy with a discount.” little more attention over the course of the season,” Schreiner said.

Companies like Amazon, Target, Walmart y Best Buy they have been deepening early discounts to stimulate demand and get rid of excess inventory, which will affect sales forecast for major shopping days.

Adobe expects discounts on electronics to hover around 27%, up from 8% a year ago.

According to Adobe’s report, online sales of the Black Friday grow only 1% and that those of Thanksgiving Day drop 1 percent.

Adobe’s forecasts are based on direct consumer transactions from more than one billion visits to US merchant websites.