STORY: U.S. shoppers spent more than $44 billion online over the Thanksgiving weekend.
That's according to an Adobe Analytics report, which showed that spending rose 7.7% from a year earlier.
But that was at a slightly slower pace than the 8.2% increase seen last year to $41 billion.
Still, this year's online spending exceeded Adobe's forecast.
And online spending on Black Friday hit an all-time record.
Consumers bought up everything from gadgets to household essentials during the five-days from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday.
Retailers including Amazon, Walmart and Target rolled out discounts across categories to draw both affluent shoppers eager to splurge and budget-conscious consumers looking to stretch every dollar.
Those discounts could get better as the holiday period continues, says Marry Epner, an adjunct professor in the graduate program at Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.
"These retailers will get super competitive. We will see more coupons, more incentives, and more gimmicks than we've ever seen before. So I'm concerned about the margins at the end of December and more importantly, at the end of January when most of these retailers close their books."
She attributes the increased competition among retailers to tariffs which have raised prices on some items and may leave retailers with more inventory than desired.
While shoppers hunt for the best deals, they are also relying more on AI to help them find them and are also using "buy now, pay later" services which hit an all-time high on Cyber Monday.
Even though some consumers took on short-term debt while shopping for gifts this year, analysts noted that shoppers remained savvy and watched price tags carefully to avoid impulse buys.
