Two trends jump out straight away when you look at what Americans are buying this holiday season. First, kids like toys. And second, grown-ups like tech. Image via Pxhere.
NEW YORK—There’s no doubt about it: holiday gift-buying season has fully descended upon us. For the well-organized among us, gift-buying may already be in the rear-view mirror, but many Americans are probably looking ahead at a long list of gifts, and a sea of wrapping paper, in the coming weeks. Finding the perfect present for everyone is nothing short of an art form; with countless things to choose from, figuring out what everyone on your list wants can be next to impossible. But every year there are a few gifts that seem to top everyone’s list, from the Cabbage Patch Kids craze of 80s to last year’s Hatchimals hysteria.

This year, Adobe Analytics is keeping track of the year’s most popular gifts in real time, with an interactive chart that tracks the top five selling products every day. The data, which Adobe said is gathered from more than one trillion visits to “thousands of websites” in the U.S. shows what consumers are buying, when they’re spending their money, and how much they’re spending this holiday season.



Buying the right gift is nothing short of an art form. Image via Pxhere. 
So far this year, Adobe reports that consumers have spent $81.5 billion of a projected total of $143.8 billion. On Black Friday alone, Americans spent $7.4 billion, followed by $3.6 billion on Small Business Saturday and $9.4 billion on Cyber Monday.

So what are Americans spending all that money on? The top selling products, according to Adobe, have been pretty consistent across the past few weeks: L.O.L Surprise Dolls and Frozen 2 Toys were in the top three on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving day, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday.

Samsung TVs, Apple laptops, the Nintendo Switch and a handful of video games (including FIFA 20, Madden 20, and NBA 2K20) have also made the top five throughout the week. The full interactive chart is available on Adobe Analytics’ website, but it seems like two trends jump out straight away. First, kids like toys. And second, grown-ups like tech. It’s not surprising—but it is useful to know when it comes to getting your own holiday shopping out of the way.

  


L.O.L. Surprise Dolls are one of the most popular gifts for kids this holiday season, according to Adobe Analytics.
Image via Darlinneee on Wikimedia Commons.

Consumers have spent almost $100 billion so far this holiday 
season.Image via Pxhere.
Optical is also trending this holiday season. Oprah included Peepers readers in her Oprah’s Favorite Things list for 2019, and plenty of retailers, ECPs and brands across the industry are holding special sales and events to ring in the holiday gifting season. After all, Oprah’s influence could even inspire more people to pick up frames as a gift for someone they love this year.

Earlier this year, the National Retail Federation reported an expected increase in holiday retail sales, both online and in store. It seems like there’s no slowing down in sight when it comes to buying gifts for the holidays, so we might as well get ahead of it. And, right now, it looks like L.O.L Surprise Dolls and Frozen might be the best place to start.