Black Friday Shopping Trends include e-commerce, AI chatbots

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Transcript

00:00The holiday shopping season is off and running with a strong start over the Black Friday weekend.

00:05MasterCard reports a 14% increase in e-commerce sales compared to a year ago.

00:11Of those online sales, more people than ever are using their phones.

00:15More than half of Cyber Monday sales were purchased using mobile devices

00:20where customers can get access to unique discounts.

00:23Retailers can provide them with those personalized offers that consumers are really looking for.

00:29Adjusted for inflation, sales at brick-and-mortar stores actually fell.

00:33But experts say that can be misleading.

00:36Most shopping still occurs in America inside of a store.

00:41Yes, there are lots of people who are shopping online, but we're still seeing

00:45greater than 80% of all sales in retail happen inside of a store.

00:50The National Retail Federation reports shoppers spent slightly more this year over Black Friday

00:55weekend, an average of $235, up $8 from a year ago.

01:00The most popular purchases include apparel, toys, gift cards, candy and food, and personal care items.

01:08Retailers are also trying out new AI chatbots to help recommend products.

01:13But experts say they work better when they learn a little bit about what exactly you're looking for.

01:19And that runs the risk of rubbing some people the wrong way.

01:22I think there's one major step that needs to happen for mass consumer trust,

01:27and that's to some degree the chatbot needing to be able to show its work.

01:31Amazon and Walmart are among those retailers

01:33rolling out AI chatbots on their websites this year.

01:37In New York, CB Cotton, Fox News.