Bankinter: According to Salesforce, which aggregates data from retailers’ websites, online spending amounted to $16.4bn in the US (+9%); $70.9bn globally (+8%). Average discounts were 30%. Mastercard estimates that online retail was up +8.5% in the US and +1% in physical shops. According to Adobe Analytics, online spending reached $9,800Bn (+7.5%) vs. $9,600Bn estimated. On Thanksgiving, according to the same source, online sales were $5.6 billion (+5.5%), in line with expectations.
Assessment: Online retail figures for Black Friday are good (+7.5%/+9% depending on the source), but uncertainty remains as to whether this pace can be sustained throughout the holiday season, the impact of discounting on margins and there is little visibility on how physical sales are doing. We remain cautious in the consumer sector and continue to prioritise very “premium” brands with pricing power and customers more insensitive to the inflation environment and high financing costs (Hermés, LVMH) or brands with a good price/quality ratio that can pick up the slippage of demand towards cheaper products (Inditex).
