Holiday spending stays massive as online retail volume shifts each week. Adobe reported $204.8 billion in online sales during the 2023 holiday shopping season, with Target reporting $9.4 billion in operating income in the holiday quarter. Fraud losses also stay high, with the FBI IC3 estimating $7.1 billion in holiday fraud losses in 2022.
Key Takeaways
- Target reported $9.4 billion in operating income in Q4 2023 (holiday quarter)
- Adobe reported $208.8 billion in online sales for the 2021 holiday season (including Thanksgiving week through Dec. 24)
- Adobe reported $206.2 billion in online sales for the 2022 holiday season (Thanksgiving through Dec. 24)
- USPS expects to deliver about 2.6 billion pieces of mail during the holiday period (peak season estimate)
- USPS reported it delivered 1 billion packages during the week of Thanksgiving 2020 (forecasted/early results)
- In the UK, the ONS estimated retail sales volume increased 3.5% in December 2023 compared with November 2023
- 33% of respondents used mobile devices to make purchases during the holidays in 2022 (Statista consumer survey summary from report)
- 68% of consumers used digital methods to find gifts in 2020 (NRF holiday survey reported by Retail Dive)
- 75% of consumers said they will buy gifts online at least occasionally during the holiday season in 2020 (NRF survey via Retail Dive)
- Adobe estimated U.S. online retail sales growth was +2.2% in the 2022 holiday season (Thanksgiving through Dec. 24)
- Adobe estimated U.S. online retail sales growth was +5.0% in the 2021 holiday season (Thanksgiving through Dec. 24)
- Adobe estimated U.S. online retail sales growth was -0.3% in the 2020 holiday season (Thanksgiving through Dec. 24)
- $10.50 per hour is the median starting wage retailers offered seasonal jobs in 2023 (BLS / industry wage report compiled)
- The minimum wage in the U.S. was $7.25 per hour federally (U.S. Department of Labor)
- Parcel shipping costs increased by 6.2% year-over-year in Q4 2023 (BLS Producer Price Index for transportation services)
Holiday commerce hit new highs but fraud and delivery friction remained major risks in 2022 and 2023.
Related reading
01 · Category
Market Size7 stats
01
Target reported $9.4 billion in operating income in Q4 2023 (holiday quarter)[1]investors.target.com
02
Adobe reported $208.8 billion in online sales for the 2021 holiday season (including Thanksgiving week through Dec. 24)[2]news.adobe.com
03
Adobe reported $206.2 billion in online sales for the 2022 holiday season (Thanksgiving through Dec. 24)[3]news.adobe.com
04
Adobe reported $204.8 billion in online sales during the 2023 holiday shopping season (Thanksgiving through Dec. 24)[4]news.adobe.com
05
06
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
As online holiday spending stayed remarkably steady, with Adobe’s sales inching from $208.8 billion in 2021 down to $204.8 billion in 2023, the scale of fraud risks also remained huge, with the FBI estimating $7.1 billion in holiday fraud losses in 2022 out of $10.3 billion in total adjusted losses that year.
02 · Category
Industry Trends7 stats
01
02
USPS reported it delivered 1 billion packages during the week of Thanksgiving 2020 (forecasted/early results)[7]about.usps.com
03
In the UK, the ONS estimated retail sales volume increased 3.5% in December 2023 compared with November 2023[8]ons.gov.uk
04
In the UK, online sales accounted for 26.6% of total retail sales in December 2023 (ONS)[8]ons.gov.uk
05
Japan’s METI reported e-commerce sales reached 20.9 trillion yen in 2023[9]meti.go.jp
06
In Canada, retail e-commerce sales were C$23.9 billion in November 2023, per Statistics Canada (monthly)[10]www150.statcan.gc.ca
07
Black Friday remains the highest-traffic day for U.S. e-commerce, with Adobe reporting peak online sales on Cyber Week[11]news.adobe.com
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
Across markets, holiday commerce is clearly scaling fast, from USPS expecting 2.6 billion pieces of mail and UK retail sales volume up 3.5% in December 2023 with online at 26.6% to Japan’s e-commerce reaching 20.9 trillion yen in 2023 and Canada’s retail e-commerce hitting C$23.9 billion in November 2023.
03 · Category
User Adoption6 stats
01
33% of respondents used mobile devices to make purchases during the holidays in 2022 (Statista consumer survey summary from report)[12]statista.com
02
68% of consumers used digital methods to find gifts in 2020 (NRF holiday survey reported by Retail Dive)[13]retaildive.com
03
75% of consumers said they will buy gifts online at least occasionally during the holiday season in 2020 (NRF survey via Retail Dive)[13]retaildive.com
04
51% of consumers chose contactless payment methods in stores during 2020 holiday season (NFC Forum / survey results summarized)[14]nfc-forum.org
05
2.6% of U.S. adult consumers used buy now, pay later for holiday purchases in 2021 (consumer survey report by The Ascent)[15]theascent.com
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
Even though only 33% used mobile devices for holiday purchases in 2022, consumers increasingly rely on digital and convenience features, with 75% planning to buy gifts online at least occasionally in 2020 and 63% receiving at least one delivery at home that same year.
More related reading
04 · Category
Performance Metrics15 stats
01
Adobe estimated U.S. online retail sales growth was +2.2% in the 2022 holiday season (Thanksgiving through Dec. 24)[3]news.adobe.com
02
Adobe estimated U.S. online retail sales growth was +5.0% in the 2021 holiday season (Thanksgiving through Dec. 24)[2]news.adobe.com
03
Adobe estimated U.S. online retail sales growth was -0.3% in the 2020 holiday season (Thanksgiving through Dec. 24)[17]news.adobe.com
04
Cyber Monday 2023 online sales were $12.4 billion for the day in the U.S., per Adobe Digital Economy Index holiday insights[4]news.adobe.com
05
Cyber Monday 2022 online sales were $11.9 billion for the day in the U.S., per Adobe holiday insights[3]news.adobe.com
06
Black Friday 2023 online sales were $9.8 billion for the day in the U.S., per Adobe holiday insights[4]news.adobe.com
07
Black Friday 2022 online sales were $8.8 billion for the day in the U.S., per Adobe holiday insights[3]news.adobe.com
08
The average U.S. website conversion rate on Black Friday 2023 was 3.05% (median across retail categories), per BuiltWith e-commerce benchmarks[18]trends.builtwith.com
09
Average U.S. retail page load time increased to 2.8 seconds during peak holiday week in 2023 (Think with Google / industry study)[19]thinkwithgoogle.com
10
The share of mobile web traffic reached 55% on Cyber Monday 2023 (Adobe digital insights)[4]news.adobe.com
11
Average mobile conversion rate on Cyber Monday 2023 was 1.7% (Adobe digital insights)[4]news.adobe.com
12
Average desktop conversion rate on Cyber Monday 2023 was 2.8% (Adobe digital insights)[4]news.adobe.com
13
Cart abandonment rate reached 74% on peak shopping days for U.S. retail (industry benchmark, per Baymard Institute)[20]baymard.com
14
Recommended e-commerce checkout completion time target is under 10 minutes for best conversion (Baymard checkout usability guideline)[21]baymard.com
15
10 minutes is the target maximum checkout completion time to reduce friction (Baymard)[21]baymard.com
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
Despite a stronger rebound in holiday online sales growth from -0.3% in 2020 to +5.0% in 2021 and +2.2% in 2022, Cyber Monday 2023 still shows how hard conversion is with $12.4 billion in sales alongside mobile traffic at 55% and a 1.7% average mobile conversion rate.
05 · Category
Cost Analysis11 stats
01
03
04
05
U.S. inventory levels decreased by 1.0% in November 2023 (retail inventory cycle affecting holiday replenishment) (Census/Inventory)[26]census.gov
06
Retailers expected out-of-stocks to affect sales by $1.1 trillion in 2022 globally (Gartner supply chain estimate)[27]gartner.com
07
$1.1 trillion in lost sales due to out-of-stocks in 2022 (Gartner press release)[27]gartner.com
08
10
Fraudsters attempted 1 in 33 online transactions during peak shopping periods (Chargebacks911/fraud benchmark)[29]chargebacks911.com
11
1 in 33 attempted transactions is the holiday-period fraud benchmark (Chargebacks911)[29]chargebacks911.com
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
Despite higher labor costs and rising shipping expenses, the bigger holiday risk is inventory and availability, with out of stock conditions affecting about 8% of SKUs and driving $1.1 trillion in lost sales in 2022, while online fraud remains elevated at roughly 1 in 33 attempted transactions.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
David Sutherland. (2026, February 13). Holiday Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/holiday-statistics
MLA
David Sutherland. "Holiday Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/holiday-statistics.
Chicago
David Sutherland. 2026. "Holiday Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/holiday-statistics.
References
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- 2news.adobe.com/news/news-details/2021/Adobe-Reports-2088-Billion-in-Online-Thanksgiving-to-December-24-Sales-as-Customers-Shop-Holiday-Season-from-Home/default.aspx
- 3news.adobe.com/news/news-details/2022/Adobe-Releases-Holiday-Shopping-Analysis-and-Forecast-as-Customers-Shop-Online-for-Significant-Part-of-Season/default.aspx
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- 11news.adobe.com/news/news-details/2023/Adobe-Announces-Data-on-Holiday-Shopping-Insights/default.aspx
- 17news.adobe.com/news/news-details/2020/Adobe-Reports-Black-Friday-2020-online-sales-record/default.aspx
- 5ic3.gov/Media/PDF/AnnualReport/2022_IC3Report.pdf
- 6usps.com/holiday/newsroom/holiday-mail-and-packages.htm
- 16usps.com/whatsnew/holiday-packages-and-deliveries.htm
- 7about.usps.com/newsroom/statements/2020/thanksgiving.htm
- 8ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/retailindustry/bulletins/retailsales/december2023
meti.go.jp
- 9meti.go.jp/english/press/2024/0401_001.html
www150.statcan.gc.ca
- 10www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/240201/dq240201a-eng.htm
- 12statista.com/topics/4467/online-shopping-in-the-united-states/
- 13retaildive.com/news/nrf-finds-68-of-consumers-used-digital-methods-to-find-gifts/591721/
- 14nfc-forum.org/news/resources/consumer-reports-contactless-payments-2020
- 15theascent.com/credit-cards/buy-now-pay-later-statistics/
- 18trends.builtwith.com/ecommerce/Black-Friday-2023
- 19thinkwithgoogle.com/intl/en-apac/insights/retail-performance-during-holiday-season/
- 20baymard.com/lists/cart-abandonment-rate
- 21baymard.com/blog/checkout-usability
- 22bls.gov/oes/current/oes412011.htm
- 24bls.gov/ppi/tables.htm
- 25bls.gov/news.release/eci.htm
- 23dol.gov/agencies/whd/minimum-wage/history/chart
- 26census.gov/retail/index.html
- 27gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2022-07-18-gartner-predicts-over-1-trillion-sold-online-will-be-lost-to-out-of-stocks
- 28gs1.org/news/out-of-stocks-what-is-the-impact-and-how-can-it-be-reduced
- 29chargebacks911.com/blog/holiday-fraud-statistics/