The 2025 holiday season shattered ecommerce sales records, with consumers spending $257.8 billion between November 1 and December 31, marking a 6.8% increase compared to 2024. Notably, there were 25 days where online spending exceeded $4 billion, up from 18 days during the previous season.
Mobile devices played a pivotal role in driving transactions, accounting for 56.4% of online purchases, an increase from 54.5% in 2024. The growing dominance of mobile commerce underscores the shifting behavior of consumers who increasingly favor shopping on smartphones and tablets.
Artificial intelligence (AI) emerged as a critical driver of retail activity, contributing to 20% of all transactions and generating $262 billion through personalized recommendations. Third-party AI search tools, such as ChatGPT and Perplexity, made significant contributions, with traffic from these platforms doubling year-over-year and delivering nine times higher conversion rates than social media traffic.
Discounts were a key sales strategy during the holiday period, with retailers offering aggressive price reductions to entice shoppers. Electronic goods saw the steepest discounts, peaking at an average of 30.9%, followed by apparel (25.1%), sporting goods (20.3%), and furniture (18.8%). While these discounts helped boost sales, they likely placed pressure on profit margins for retailers.
For ecommerce professionals, this record-setting season highlights the importance of leveraging AI-driven tools, mobile optimization, and effective discounting to maximize revenue and conversion rates during high-traffic shopping periods.
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Source: Retail TouchPoints
Source: Retail TouchPoints
