Economics

Data for Thanksgiving weekend shows consumers shopped at encouraging levels, but underlying details about spending patterns suggest this may not have been the economic boon the administration believes.

According to Adobe Analytics, U.S. consumers spent $6.4 billion on Thanksgiving Day and $11.8 billion online on Black Friday, both record highs and up significantly compared to last year.

But Salesforce data, cited by Forbes, found that order volume fell by about 1% year over year, while average selling prices were up 7%—indicating that much of the growth was caused by inflation rather than any uptick in shopping enthusiasm.