Online shoppers break Black Friday spending record

More than 1,000 flights were canceled across Chicago’s busiest airports Saturday as a winter storm threatened to dump as much as 10 inches of snow in the area during the post-Thanksgiving travel rush. Top carriers United and American Airlines said they issued travel waivers and notices to affected passengers that will enable them to adjust flights without paying fees. A winter storm warning went into effect overnight for the entire Chicago area and parts of Indiana.

The agriculture industry is looking to new technologies to make farming more cost-efficient and precise, and hopefully entice more young people into the field, The Washington Post reports. From AI-driven weed detection to soil analysis, new technologies could help shift farm work from “labor-intensive, backbreaking manual labor ... to managing a swarm of robots,” according to one professor of environmental economics. AI could also aid agricultural sustainability efforts, though concerns about job displacement and the overall environmental impact of AI technologies remain.

An ongoing effort by Goodwill to revamp is thrift stores appears to be paying off. Last year, the company says its shoppers spent a record $5.5 billion at its North American locations. That’s 37% more than the previous high set in 2019. Due to strong sales, the company has been able to expand its retail footprint. Last year, Goodwill opened 42 net-new stores. Location is key, as the company targets affluent neighborhoods whose donors are known to drop off designer items, often in good condition.

Every November, Small Business Saturday reminds us just how vital small businesses are to the American economy. As financial advisors, we see firsthand how these businesses shape local communities and drive national growth.

Here’s a closer look at why this day matters and how your support makes a difference:

✅Roughly 46% of private sector employees work for small businesses, totalling close to 59 million employees across the U.S.
✅Small businesses account for over 43% of America’s gross domestic product, contributing trillions of dollars annually through goods, services, and innovation.
✅Since 1995, small businesses have been responsible for over 60% of all new job growth, fueling the future of work.
✅Since 2021, over $201 billion has been spent at small businesses during Small Business Saturday since its inception, proving that every year, local support drives national impact.
✅As of 2025, there are 34.8 million small businesses in the U.S., making up 99.9% of all businesses nationwide.

Although Apple CEO Tim Cook recently hit retirement age, he has expressed no intent to relinquish his post. However, analysts and investors are increasingly curious who might succeed his remarkable 14-year reign, The Wall Street Journal says. Four possible contenders within the iPhone maker have emerged: hardware engineering chief John Ternus, software engineering head Craig Federighi, services director and key dealmaker Eddy Cue and marketing leader Greg "Joz" Joswiak. Both the Journal and Bloomberg consider Ternus, who led the iPhone Air launch, to be the current frontrunner.

Everyone has the occasional slow day at work. But a persistent lack of meaningful tasks can drain energy, motivation and focus, quietly hurting productivity. It's a trend being called "boreout," and it's combining with burnout to cost companies money, according to Inc. A study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that the financial hit from "disengagement" and burnout ranged from an average of $4,000 for hourly employees to more than $20,600 for executives last year.

American online Black Friday purchases surged to a record $11.8 billion, up 9.1% from last year, data from Adobe Analytics shows.

Meanwhile, Salesforce estimates U.S. shoppers spent roughly $18 billion on Black Friday, with luxury apparel and accessories among the most popular categories.

Retailers expect strong momentum to continue, with Adobe projecting $5.5 billion in online sales Saturday and $5.9 billion Sunday — up 3.8% and 5.4% from last year.

And the biggest surge may yet come: Adobe expects Cyber Monday to deliver around $14.2 billion, a 6.3% jump from 2024.

Still, the numbers mask a shift in shopper behavior. Despite higher total spending, Salesforce notes consumers are buying fewer items per checkout — a sign that rising prices, inflation and economic uncertainty are tempering demand.

On the ground at physical stores, early-morning crowds were thin, with many consumers saying they’re cautious about overspending amid persistent inflation and a soft labor market.

There’s a lesson here — even when consumers spend more, they’re being selective, value-driven and strategic. For brands and marketers, the challenge isn’t just driving traffic: it’s offering enough perceived value to earn a spot in tighter carts.

What are your thoughts? Where does this leave us going into Cyber Monday — will we see a surge of volume or just more of the same selective buying?