This year’s Black Friday marked a major shift in how Americans shop. Online sales climbed to $11.8 billion, a 9.1% increase from last year, as shoppers increasingly chose screens over store aisles. Behind the surge was a massive rise in AI-powered shopping tools, which helped users search, compare, and purchase faster than ever before. Adobe reports that traffic coming from AI-driven sources jumped more than 800% year over year.

With inflation still pressuring household budgets and consumer sentiment at recent lows, shoppers leaned into AI tools to hunt for the best possible value. Instead of wandering through multiple sites, many relied on chatbots and recommendation engines to surface deals quickly. This shift pushed e-commerce sales up 10.4%, while in-store shopping barely grew at all, signaling a clear behavioral change in how consumers approach peak retail days.

Even with higher total revenue, consumers placed smaller orders than last year. The number of items per transaction dropped 2%, while the average price per item rose 7%. Tariffs, inflation, and rising product costs made it harder for retailers to offer deeper discounts. As a result, many deals felt less impactful in real terms, even though headline sales numbers broke records.

Despite tighter wallets, shoppers showed strong interest in trusted holiday favorites.

Here are some of this year’s bestsellers:

AI played a growing role in guiding shoppers toward these high-demand items, speeding up discovery and decision-making.

Foot traffic at physical stores remained relatively muted. Many shoppers cited concerns about overspending in an uncertain economy and chose to avoid packed retail locations altogether. The contrast between booming online activity and sluggish in-person shopping further highlights how rapidly consumer behavior is shifting toward digital-first experiences.

Momentum is expected to continue into Cyber Monday, which Adobe projects will generate $14.2 billion in online sales, up 6.3% from last year. Electronics are forecast to lead the way, with discounts expected to reach as high as 30%, alongside strong promotions in apparel and computers.

This Black Friday wasn’t just about higher sales—it marked a turning point in how artificial intelligence shapes consumer behavior. From deal discovery to price comparison and checkout, AI is now embedded in the core of retail experiences, not just a bonus feature. The 2025 holiday season may ultimately be remembered as the moment AI became a permanent driver of global commerce.

AI startup Runway has released Gen 4.5, its newest text-to-video model designed to generate high-definition, cinematic-quality video from written prompts. The company says the model offers tighter control over motion, camera movement, physics, and cause-and-effect, making it more useful for creators who need realistic, predictable results.

Gen 4.5 now holds the No. 1 position on the Artificial Analysis Text-to-Video leaderboard with 1,247 Elo points, based on blind user voting across competing model outputs. It outranked Google’s Veo 3, currently in second place, and OpenAI’s Sora 2 Pro, which ranks significantly lower. The benchmark measures realism, consistency, and how accurately models follow written prompts.

Gen 4.5 was developed using Nvidia Hopper and Blackwell GPUs, allowing for fast inference without sacrificing output quality. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang described the moment as a major step forward for video and world models, highlighting tighter integration across training, refinement, and deployment.

Founded in 2018, Runway has become a major force in creative AI, earning a place on CNBC’s 2025 Disruptor 50 list. Its platform is used by media companies, studios, brands, designers, creatives, and students, and PitchBook estimates the company’s valuation at $3.55 billion.

Gen 4.5 is rolling out in stages and will be available to all users by the end of the week through Runway’s platform, API, and select partners. Leadership says this is just the first of several major releases planned.

🚗 Lyft’s AI agent cuts support times by 87%

🧸 Experts warn AI-powered toys may not be safe for kids

💊 AI made asthma drug enters phase 3 of testing

🫢 Avatar director calls gen AI “horrifying”

🤖 AI influencers now have detailed backstories

🐟 Norwegian fish farm uses AI to sort 20,000 salmon an hour

Here’s what to do:

1) 📲 Open ChatGPT

2) 🗣️ Ask for current promo codes for your website of choice

3) 🏷️ Test each code before checking out and completing your purchase

4) 😁 Enjoy your Cyber Monday savings!

Optional:
Ask ChatGPT if the brand offers student, first-time, or cashback discounts for extra savings.

From AI driving online Black Friday sales to Runway beating Big Tech in video generation, this week showed how fast AI is moving. Will you be using ChatGPT to find Cyber Monday promo codes? Share your best savings with us. See you next time! 🚀

Stay informed, stay curious, and stay ahead with Jumble!

Zoe from Jumble