US Black Friday shoppers tapered online splurge, as some returned to stores

People buy clothes in a store at a shopping center during Black Friday sales, in Caracas, Venezuela November 26, 2021 - Reuters

RALEIGH, North Carolina: U.S. shoppers spent slightly less online during Black Friday this year, with many venturing back to physical stores despite coronavirus fears, tight supplies, and retailers' efforts to encourage earlier holiday purchases.

For the first time ever, spending online during Black Friday - traditionally one of the biggest shopping days of the year - fell, reversing the growth of recent years, according to data from Adobe Analytics, a wing of Adobe's business that specializes in data insights and tracks transactions at 80 of the top 100 U.S. retailers.