Online Black Friday sales top forecast

Americans shrugged off sky-high inflation on Black Friday, spending in record-breaking numbers online even as brick-and-mortar stores enjoyed the fading of covid-19 concerns.

Customers spent $14.42 billion between Thanksgiving and Black Friday — up from a combined $14.04 billion initially projected, according to Adobe Analytics.

Online holiday season shopping was projected to rack up $210 billion, up from last year’s $205 billion, Adobe Analytics reported.

Still, the rise did not keep up with an annual inflation rate that was near 8% in October.

Of the $159 billion spent between Oct. 1 and Friday, more than 55% was spent on desktop and other devices, compared to the 45% spent on mobile purchases, according to Adobe.