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Published: Dec 02, 2019 3 min read
Shoppers Look For Deals On Black Friday
Stephanie Keith—Getty Images

The biggest shopping day of 2019 was also one of the biggest online shopping days in history.

Black Friday 2019 hit a record $7.4 billion in U.S online sales, according to a survey of online retailers by Adobe Analytics. The company's consumer research team predicts Cyber Monday will put an even bigger dent in shoppers’ wallets: about $9.4 billion by the end of the day.

(If you want to browse the best Cyber Monday deals today, check out our coverage of sales at Walmart, Amazon, and Target, as well as roundups of the best Cyber Monday deals overall and Cyber Monday promo codes that give you up to 60% off everything at retailer websites.)

What are the “must have” items so far this holiday season?

The most popular products filling online carts this year include toys from Disney’s Frozen 2 (which also set box office records over the weekend), L.O.L. Surprise dolls, and Paw Patrol toys, according to Adobe.

The Nintendo Switch, a wildly popular video game console that debuted in 2017, is also stuffing virtual carts — as are video games like “FIFA 20” and “Madden 20,” and "NBA 2K20."

Nintendo Switch once again dominated Black Friday, with Amazon's proprietary bundle coming out on top," according to IGN.com, a video game news and review website. “'Breath of the Wild,' in spite of being a Nintendo Switch launch title in March 2017 was the overall most popular gaming deal of Black Friday 2019.”

Electronics like Apple MacBooks, AirPods, and Amazon's "Fire TV" device were also hit items this year, according to Adobe. And while smartphones like Google’s Pixel 4 and the iPhone XR didn’t top the list, sales from smartphones did set a record. Of the $7.4 billion Americans spent online last Friday, 39% (or $2.9 billion) came from smartphones -- making Black Friday 2019 the biggest shopping day for smartphone sales ever.

Are these deals actually … good? That depends on the item, according to WalletHub.

Last month, the finance website compared pre-and Black Friday prices on a bunch of items sold on Amazon.com. Jewelry topped the “best deals” category with an average 70% discount. Consumer electronics came in dead last, with Black Friday deals that cut just 25% off the original price.

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