• Americans should send packages early to meet holiday shipping deadlines and avoid delays.
• UPS hires thousands of seasonal workers to manage increased holiday shipping demand.
• Here are FedEx, USPS, and UPS' specific deadlines for Christmas delivery.

The holiday season is here, and while delivery drivers work hard to ensure parcels reach their destinations on time, gift-givers can help by sending them before the shipping deadlines.

With Christmas less than two weeks off, there are mere days left to mail gifts to your loved ones. Carriers prep for the busy holiday time by hiring seasonal employees to assist drivers or deliver packages themselves.

In 2023, UPS said it'd hire 100,000 seasonal workers for the busy holiday season; this year, they said they're hiring more than 125,000. Although many carriers' deadlines allow for last-minute shipments — 48 hours before December 25 — it's best practice to get your gift shipped off as early as possible.

Here's when three big mail carriers say you need to ship your gifts by.

FedEx

There were five fewer shopping days between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, FedEx Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Officer Brie Carere noted in a press release. As such, FedEx says it is doing what it can to cut down on holiday shipping chaos.

FedEx is giving consumers until December 23 to ship their packages within the US, Mexico, Canada, or Puerto Rico for next-day delivery.

USPS

If using the United States Postal Service, consumers should mail their gifts by December 21 to arrive before Christmas in the US, but those shipping to Alaska and Hawaiian must have packages in by December 20.

December 16 is the deadline for shipping internationally to Asian and European countries.

It's unclear if shipping to Canada in time for Christmas is possible. USPS previously said mail service to Canada was suspended due to the ongoing postal worker strike, but Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon asked for Canada Post union employees to be ordered back to work on Friday, according to the Toronto Star.

UPS

Those shipping with UPS have until December 23 to mail their packages within the US or Canada using its Next Day Air service. Rates will depend on when you ship and where you're shipping to.

• I asked ChatGPT to come up with gift ideas for my dad, mom, and sister.
• The AI tool gave me unique, thoughtful suggestions on what to get my parents.
• I wasn't as impressed with its gift ideas for my sister, but overall, ChatGPT did a great job.

Although I love Christmas shopping and gift-giving, finding unique, meaningful gifts for my family can be difficult year after year.

Determined to switch things up, I turned to ChatGPT to help me come up with some gift ideas for them.

My hope was that the AI service would produce ideas that I wouldn't have thought of otherwise, with suggestions more creative than just another cookbook for my mom or band T-shirt for my sister.

Here's how it went.

Going into the holiday season, I was most worried about what to get my dad

I wanted to start with my dad since he's typically the hardest person to shop for in my family.

He doesn't care much for material things, so I was curious if ChatGPT could suggest practical gifts or experiences he'd appreciate.

Here's the prompt I gave ChatGPT:

Please give me unique gift recommendations for what to get my dad for Christmas based on his interests. He loves anything about World War II history, is trying to learn Spanish via Duolingo, always rewatches "Breaking Bad," is on the keto diet, and loves making breakfast food.

In total, ChatGPT gave me 19 suggestions — three for each of the five interests I mentioned, along with additional ideas under categories suggesting quirky and personalized gifts.

I was most impressed with ChatGPT's suggestions for my dad

Some of the ideas ChatGPT gave me included a personalized World War II history book, Duolingo merchandise, a Los Pollos Hermanos (a restaurant from "Breaking Bad") apron, a keto snack-box subscription, and gourmet bacon.

I was impressed, as these were all ideas I wouldn't have come up with on my own. However, my favorite suggestions were under ChatGPT's "Fun and Quirky" and "Personalized Gift" sections.

The quirky ideas included a World War II-themed board game like Axis & Allies, and a movie-night pack comprised of a collection of Spanish-language films (with snacks to enjoy while watching).

Under the personalized gift section, ChatGPT suggested a keto-friendly breakfast basket with treats like low-carb muffins and nut butters.

Because my dad isn't really into collecting memorabilia, I decided the best idea would be to combine two ideas and pair the Spanish movie-night pack with an assortment of keto-friendly snacks.

I think he'd appreciate the experience of watching movies together. I may also check out some keto-snack-box-subscription websites for ideas on what to put in his basket.

I figured my mom would be easier to shop for

Going into this holiday season, I was a bit less worried about what to get my mom because she plans to retire next year and is looking for more hobbies to keep her busy.

Still, I didn't have anything particular in mind, which is where ChatGPT came in handy.

I asked it to come up with gift ideas based on this prompt:

Now, can you help me come up with ideas for my mom based on her interests? She is super excited to go to Iceland for the first time next year, is always trying to find low-carb, low-sugar TikTok recipes, wants to get more into exercising (recently bought a Peloton and Apple Watch), and is overall just looking for more hobbies to pick up when she retires next year.

It gave me 22 suggestions in total — four for each of the four points I mentioned and additional ideas under categories suggesting personalized and mindfulness-related ideas.

ChatGPT came up with some pretty unique ideas for my mom

Among the ideas ChatGPT suggested were a packing kit for Iceland that includes items like a travel adapter and language guide, a personalized binder of her favorite TikTok recipes, Apple Watch bands, and cooking or baking classes to enjoy in retirement.

Compared to my dad's results, I was less impressed with the additional categories ChatGPT created for my mom. Under the "Something Personalized" category, it suggested a customized Icelandic map, a personalized fitness-tracker case, and motivational-quote wall art. In my opinion, none of these seemed very practical or creative.

I thought the "Mindfulness and Relaxation" category had much better ideas: a subscription box for relaxation, a weighted blanket, and an indoor herb-garden kit.

A weighted blanket isn't likely something she'd buy for herself, but I can imagine her getting a lot of use out of it while unwinding after a long day. She's also been trying to eat healthier, so an indoor-herb-garden kit could lead her to a fun new hobby while allowing her to add fresh garnishes to her dishes.

I also liked the personalized recipe-binder idea since my mom usually just watches the same videos over and over again to remember the ingredients. Writing down and compiling her favorite TikTok recipes would be a practical and affordable gift.

I already had a gift idea in mind for my sister, so I was less reliant on the ChatGPT results

I was leaning toward getting my sister concert tickets for Christmas, but I still wanted to see what ideas ChatGPT had.

I figured if any of them stood out, I could give her another gift in addition to the tickets — or just replace them altogether.

Here's the information I gave ChatGPT:

Can you now help me come up with unique Christmas gift ideas for my sister based on her interests and hobbies? My sister loves everything music (she plays five instruments), likes unique party games, lives in San Diego, is graduating from college next year, is going to Bali next year, and likes to get merchandise from her favorite artists.

It gave me 26 gift suggestions, with ideas specific to all six of the points I mentioned and more under a category titled "Something Fun & Personalized."

None of the ideas for my sister blew me away

Although ChatGPT gave me the most ideas for my sister, I was actually the least impressed with these suggestions. However, this may have been because I already had an idea of what to get her.

Some of the ideas it gave me were a custom instrument case, specific party games (most of which she already owned), a Bali guidebook, a memory box to keep mementos from college, and merchandise from San Diego or her favorite artists.

These ideas seemed a lot more generic than the ones it produced for my mom and dad. For example, I wouldn't have thought to put together a TikTok-recipe binder for my mom or a Spanish movie night for my dad.

However, there weren't any ideas for my sister that I thought were especially unique or practical.

Perhaps it was due to the types of interests I entered for my sister, but I wouldn't choose any of those gifts over — or even as an addition to — concert tickets for her.

Before making any future holiday purchases, I'll consult ChatGPT first

Despite being slightly disappointed with ChatGPT's suggestions for my sister, I'll definitely be taking some of the ideas it gave me for my parents.

Although the AI tool may not have all the answers for mind-blowing, personalized gifts, I think it's a decent place to start if you need some ideas for brainstorming.

Based on this success, I plan to return to the platform to ask for gift suggestions for upcoming holidays and birthdays.

• I went to Target and Walmart to see which I preferred for buying Christmas presents for my teens.
• Prices at both felt similar, but Target had sales on items like board games that gave it a leg up.
• My Walmart had a lot of great stuff, but my local Target was better organized with more deals.

This year, I headed to big-box retailers Target and Walmart to do my holiday shopping.

Either seemed like it could be a one-stop shop considering I tend to buy my two teenagers gifts like festive pajamas, board games, toiletry sets, and snacks.

Here's how shopping for my kids at Target and Walmart compared this holiday season.

If your teens love cozy holiday socks, go to Target.

A Christmas Eve tradition in my house is to give my kids new pajamas, cozy socks, and a board game we can all play together after dinner.

At Target, I found the softest, cutest holiday socks for about $3 a pair, and I got a few for each kid.

Walmart had a solid selection of affordable holiday accessories.

My teenage daughter loves to wear festive accessories to holiday parties and church services throughout December, so I toss new ones into her stocking each year.

At Walmart, I found a display of super-affordable holiday accessories, such as light-up tree earrings and candy-cane-printed hair clips.

Most of the accessories were under $5 — and the display looked a bit picked-through — but I still found cute stuff for me and my daughter.

My teens love board games, and Target had great deals going on.

During my shopping trip, Target was running a sale offering up to half off on board games like Disney Villainous and Tetris.

The sale seemed to be so good that lots of spaces on the shelves had been cleared out, and many games were out of stock.

Still, I was able to snag a few board games at low prices to put away as holiday gifts.

Walmart had a great board-game section but no sales.

Walmart's board-game aisle was well-stocked, but there weren't any sales going on when I visited.

Still, I appreciated the broad selection, which included everything from dice and card games to a local version of Monopoly specific to my Florida town.

Target had fewer games in stock, but I expected that given the sale that was happening while I was shopping.

Target seemed to have all the popular water-bottle brands.

Both of my teens have a lot of insulated water bottles, but I know they'll each love getting a new one for Christmas.

At Target, I found lots of popular brands of insulated bottles and tumblers, including Stanley and Owala. I appreciated finding big-name bottles in a variety of colorways — plus, many of them were on sale.

The water-bottle selection at Walmart didn't feel as great.

I definitely didn't experience the same Stanley-shopping zen at Walmart as I did at Target.

I struggled to find trendy big-name brands in Walmart's water-bottle section, but I did see unique offerings, like Cirkul ones with flavor pods.

For the most part, though, I was surprised at how disorganized and messy this section felt at my store. A lot of the bottles and tumblers were tipped over or shoved where they didn't belong.

There were tons of festive pajamas at Target.

We're big on holiday pajamas in my family, so I couldn't wait to see the offerings at both stores.

Target felt like the perfect spot to grab matching holiday pajamas for everyone in my family … even our pets.

My local store had a huge section filled with pajamas at a few different price points. I passed a well-stocked display with $15 sets for the whole family and found some pricier, super-soft Christmas pajamas for women.

Walmart's holiday pajamas looked pretty picked-through.

At my local Walmart, I was able to locate a cardboard display that seemed to once have holiday pajamas in a range of sizes, but it was empty.

I found festive pajamas in different sections of the store for women, men, kids, and babies, but no matching sets for families.

Target had great skincare and makeup gift sets.

My teen daughter and I love to shop at Target for makeup and skincare products, especially since the chain carries nicer lines like Versed and La Roche-Posay.

In its beauty section, I found numerous holiday-themed skincare and makeup sets along with stocking-stuffer-sized minis of face masks, lip glosses, and more.

I picked up a beauty advent calendar and a few different holiday-edition Nyx Cosmetics products for my daughter, and I know she'll love them.

I really appreciated seeing men's skincare sets at Walmart.

I was excited to find an entire endcap of festive toiletry sets for men at Walmart with products from brands like Every Man Jack and Duke Cannon.

It's rare that I find men's skincare or body-care sets during the holidays, so I picked up a deodorant-and-body-wash set for my son.

Both stores had lots of holiday candy for sale.

I love putting festive versions of candies my kids already love, like Reese's and Swedish Fish, in my kids' stockings.

It's always a bit whimsical to see beloved snacks packaged up in special ways for holidays, and both Walmart and Target had plenty of these kinds of items.

I could stop by either store to fill my kids' stockings, whether I want hollow candy-cane shapes filled with Hershey's Kisses or seasonal Pez dispensers,

Throughout my trips, I found Target had more sales.

In general, I found Target's and Walmart's prices to be pretty comparable on things like pajamas, accessories, and beauty sets.

However, Target had an advantage with its seasonal sales on board games, Lego sets, and video games.

The Lego section of my store looked especially picked-through, but that's probably because sets were 20% off. At Walmart, the Lego sets appeared to be full price.

Although Target changes its offers weekly (or sometimes daily), they appear to be coming up more often than Walmart's right now.

Overall, Target felt more festive and organized — plus, it had more sales.

Both stores had excellent offerings, but Target impressed me more.

A lot of people consider Walmart to be the cheaper of the two chains, but I actually found way more sales and deals at Target — many of which made its prices much lower than Walmart's.

Target is also doing a holiday price-match offer that's hard to beat. Shoppers can request a price adjustment if any item they buy there becomes cheaper before Christmas.

Lastly, my local Target felt cleaner, brighter, and better organized than Walmart.

I'll be heading to Target for the remainder of my holiday needs, but I still swear by shopping at Walmart for groceries for the best deals on food.

• I shopped at Five Below and Dollar Tree for holiday decorations.
• I was pleased with both chains' offerings.
• Dollar Tree's items are more traditional, while Five Below's decor is for younger shoppers.

Five Below and Dollar Tree are both discount stores with locations across the country, and both are experiencing rapid growth.

At Dollar Tree, most things cost around $1.25, with some exceptions. According to a quarterly earnings report, the chain opened 249 locations and generated $785.6 million in the third quarter of 2024 alone.

Five Below is similar, but instead of focusing on the $1.25 price point, almost everything in the store is $5.55 and below (again, with some exceptions in the Five Beyond section). And according to its quarterly earnings call, Five Below is also on a similarly positive trajectory, opening 82 new stores and earning $843.7 million last quarter, a 14.6% increase from last year.

I decided to pit these two discount giants against each other for the holiday season by comparing their offerings for holiday decorations.

Here's what I thought about each store.

My first stop was a Five Below location on Long Island, New York.

I visited this location in October to check out its Halloween offerings and was pleased with the selection.

So I decided to return in December and see what was in stock for the most wonderful time of the year.

Before I stepped inside, the Christmas spirit was on display. There were oversize ornaments and tinsel-covered candy canes for $5 each.

Do I know what these are for, exactly? No, but I liked them. I could see these working in a dorm room or in a home with young kids.

In the entryway, I saw these gingerbread homes, as well as villages and trains, for $5 each.

They seemed like a perfect holiday activity for children.

For $5, you hopefully won't get too annoyed if the kids make the ugliest and most structurally unsound gingerbread home … which wouldn't necessarily be the case with a more expensive kit, like one selling at Williams Sonoma for $35.

The wrapping paper section ranged from $1 to $5.

Wrapping paper adds up! A few rolls at $1 apiece is a bargain.

The more expensive ones were either licensed characters from properties like "Super Mario" and "Star Wars" or thicker paper than the $1 ones.

There were wheelbarrows filled with holiday lights and socks.

I already have so many Christmas string lights, but in a pinch, these $4 lights would be great.

A bin filled with tinsel is for anyone who needs a bit of sparkle in their tree or home.

Five Below offered different colored tinsel, including white, gold, hot pink, and red.

The holiday section had a huge table filled with hot-chocolate bombs, candy, and regular chocolate.

I bought one of those hot-chocolate bombs as a stocking stuffer last year, and the gift was a big hit.

The decor was split into three sections. This was "glitter decor."

This is where it became clearer who Five Below's holiday-decor audience is: children and teenage girls — or really, any teen who loves sparkles.

According to the brand's website, its target demographic is "tweens, teens and beyond." As early as 2015, Business Insider warned that Five Below should have other discount retailers concerned regarding teens' preferences.

In the store I visited, there were glittery reindeer, sparkling ornaments, twinkling earrings, fairy string lights, a white glitter-encrusted tree-topper, and sparkling fake mistletoe, ranging from $3 to $5. If I were in college, I would've done a clean sweep for my dorm or apartment.

Next to it was "disco decor."

As you can see, "disco decor" really means disco ball ornaments and those plastic light-up trees on the top shelf. I purchased one for $3.

Overall, vintage decor that leans into nostalgia seems to be back, between '70s disco balls, metallic tinsel, and light-up trees.

There were also "Lilo & Stitch" and "Nightmare Before Christmas" stockings in this display, although I'm not sure what's disco about them.

Finally, there was "glam decor," which, to be honest, I didn't really understand.

There's nothing here that's particularly "glam." The mini upside-down trees are cool, but I wouldn't call them glam.

While in this section, I noted that stockings were half-off and now priced at $2, but I don't need any more stockings.

There were lots of $1 ornaments.

These mini-ornaments were cute. There were classic orbs, disco balls, crowns, plushies, rainbows, watermelon slices, and even metallic hamburgers.

Again, these items seem best for young kids or teens.

When I visited this store for Halloween, this section was all pumpkins. It's now all Christmas tree and peppermint mocha candles.

I grabbed one of the green Christmas tree candles with a detachable top for $3.

Another section offered festive headbands and a red nose for anyone wanting to channel their inner Rudolph.

Any holiday gathering or ugly sweater party would be made better with these.

Besides decorations, there were also general holiday goodies, like holiday pillows and blankets.

They all felt very soft to the touch.

And rows of pajamas and slippers for a cold night.

I considered snagging a pair of the green reindeer slippers.

Not even pets were left out. This sweater was also the first piece of Hanukkah memorabilia I spotted at this location.

I was so taken in by all the Christmas decor that I, a Jewish person, had almost forgotten about Hanukkah entirely — though, in my defense, Hanukkah doesn't even start until Christmas at sundown this year.

I was fond of these sock advent calendars.

I usually associate advent calendars with chocolate, though I know many others exist.

It should be noted that I visited the store on the first day of December, and these were all still available — though they are only 12 days, so if you secure one at any point before December 14, you can join the fun.

I didn't buy this one, but I might go back for it.

I was particularly fond of the llama socks.

There were also classic chocolate advent calendars.

In addition to the Reese's calendar, there was a Hello Kitty calendar and a Marvel Comics calendar.

Before I left, I checked out the lone Hanukkah display.

There was special Hanukkah wrapping paper, banners, menorah decorations and headbands, gift bags, and candles.

Five Below did not respond to a request for comment regarding its Hanukkah options.

I bought three rolls of wrapping paper, a light-up Christmas tree, and a candle for $14.50.

This added a touch of non-green or -red to my apartment.

There is a Dollar Tree around 2 miles from the Five Below I visited.

Christmas decorations and holiday gift items were being advertised on the windows.

Just as I had at Five Below, I first saw oversized candy canes for $5.

Even though Dollar Tree is known as a "dollar store," some items cost more than that, like these $5 candy canes.

One of the other few items I found over $1.25 was this $3 wrapping paper.

Perhaps it was more expensive because it's reversible.

The ornament selection was overwhelming.

These ornaments were priced at $1.25 each.

If I were to compare the ornament selection at the two stores, I'd say the Dollar Tree ornaments were more classically Christmas. They were all red, white, or green and were of traditional winter things like snowmen, reindeer, snowflakes, or elves.

At Five Below, they seemed a bit more random.

There were also cute DIY ornaments for $1.25.

This seems like a fun craft for kids.

I noticed immediately that the toys and ornaments in this store represented diversity more than in any other store I've been to.

Representation in toys and ornaments hasn't always been the best — Barbie is perhaps the most notable exception, and even that took decades, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that the ballerina ornaments weren't all white.

There were even non-white elf plushies.

There weren't any human plushies I could spot at Five Below, just animals or characters, so this was nice to see.

The decor selection was wide, if not a bit basic.

To me, it seems like Dollar Tree is the place to go if you're stocking up on holiday staples or prefer to keep your decorations on the simple side.

I did like the huge fake flowers display, but I don't have anywhere to put these in my apartment.

Maybe if I had a stoop, a yard, or a balcony to perch these on, I would've grabbed a bouquet.

While walking around, I thought this aesthetic was perfect for someone who loves a classic Christmas look.

Again, basically everything was red, white, green, or gold — and there's nothing wrong with that! But if you're a teenager, this might not be your vibe.

There was a huge aisle of just different colored tinsel.

The tinsel aisle at Dollar Tree put the tinsel bin at Five Below to shame, but I don't need this much as someone who doesn't have a ton of space to decorate.

I have too many cups as it is, but I was tempted by an ornament cup — for just $1.25, I still might go back and get it.

Imagine how satisfying it would be to drink mulled wine or a hot peppermint mocha from an ornament-shaped mug.

There were shelves upon shelves of chocolate and candy.

This was similar to the candy and chocolate available at Five Below.

I was particularly fond of the holiday-themed Mike and Ikes and the Fun Dip.

I liked that the Fun Dip looked like a little book.

I was less than impressed with the candle selection.

While this might not be as chaotic as the candle selection at Home Goods, I certainly preferred Five Below's organization to this haphazard shelf. Barely any of them were wintery or seasonal.

I felt the same about the Hanukkah display — it was just this lonely stand of greeting cards.

Even though Five Below also had just one display, at least it had things other than greeting cards.

Dollar Tree Inc. did not respond to a request for comment regarding its Hanukkah selection.

I didn't buy anything at Dollar Tree since I already had equivalents of what they were selling, but I would recommend it to people looking to stock up on the basics.

I'd go to Dollar Tree if I had a house and yard to decorate. It had all the holiday staples and a lot for less than $5.

For example, if I had a huge tree with no ornaments at all, I'd head to Dollar Tree to get all the basic ornaments, the tinsel, and lights.

Five Below, on the other hand, is for someone who wants to add a little sparkle.

I'm more likely to return to Five Below since my roommate and I already have all the holiday staples like tinsel and basic ball ornaments and don't need any lawn decor. Plus, it's just us, so we don't need any crafts like DIY ornaments or plushies that kids would be into.

Five Below also fits my aesthetic (read: glitter and metallics) more than Dollar Tree did.

I think both stores are a solid option for holiday shopping on a budget — it just depends on what you need.

• TikTok Shop saw over $100 million in single-day sales on Black Friday, a spokesperson told BI.
• Creators and sellers hosted over 30,000 livestream sessions during the day.
• TikTok has been pushing e-commerce this year as it tries to break into a market dominated by Amazon.

TikTok's second Black Friday in the US shows it's starting to drive real holiday spending, even though it remains a small fraction of overall e-commerce activity.

On Friday, the company drove over $100 million in US sales on its e-commerce platform Shop, a company spokesperson told Business Insider. Shoppers tuned into over 30,000 live-selling sessions on the app that day, with the content creator and Canvas Beauty founder Stormi Steele earning $2 million in a single livestream, the spokesperson said. A representative for Canvas Beauty confirmed the livestream figure and said the company sold over 100,000 products and grossed more than $3 million across all sales during Black Friday.

Live shopping is a major focus at TikTok. The company has been pushing its sellers and creators to test out the format, which drives billions in sales in more established social-shopping markets like China.

Nico Le Bourgeois, TikTok Shop's head of US operations, told BI in late October that he hoped live shopping would break through this holiday season.

"We want people to discover new products," Le Bourgeois said. "To be surprised. To feel like shopping can be different. And as a part of that, if we can have many customers shop in live and realize that this is really cool, I think we will have done a good job."

The most popular Black Friday product categories were fashion, beauty, and home, the TikTok spokesperson said. Other top sellers on TikTok Shop's Black Friday were Tarte Cosmetics and lifestyle retailer Miniso, they added.

Overall, TikTok's sales were a small piece of the holiday shopping pie. Black Friday sales in the US hit $10.8 billion on Friday, a roughly 10% increase from 2023, according to Adobe Analytics.

Last year, across the full US holiday shopping season, Amazon drove around $104 billion in US holiday sales, while Walmart hit about $20 billion in US e-commerce sales during that holiday period, according to eMarketer estimates.

TikTok Shop is still a relative newcomer in the e-commerce world, having launched in the US in the fall of 2023. Established retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and Target, which offered millions of holiday deals throughout November, likely drove a good chunk of overall US Black Friday activity.

Still, TikTok has been gaining traction in the US in recent months, particularly among young adults. The company invested heavily in its product over the last two years. Its parent company, ByteDance, likely hopes to replicate the social-shopping success of TikTok's sister app in China, Douyin, which drives billions in annual sales.

TikTok did not release US Black Friday sales data last year. But sellers told BI that some smaller and midsize brands saw big returns during the holiday event, while some larger brands were hesitant to test out a new platform during a critical earnings period.

In 2024, TikTok appears to have drawn in a wider variety of sellers to join its holiday push, which runs between November 13 and 28. TikTok Shop featured holiday discounts from brands like electronics maker Phillips, Fenty Beauty, and Maybelline NY, for example.

Ultimately, TikTok's e-commerce momentum could be abruptly cut off if the company ends up being sold or removed from app stores in early 2024 due to a law set by Congress that comes due in January.

• Thanksgiving online spending hit $6.1 billion, driven in part by mobile device purchases.
• More shoppers are using buy now, pay later, with $993 million in sales using the method expected Cyber Monday.
• About 80% of those purchases were made on a phone.

This year, more shoppers than ever are using buy now, pay later options that let buyers pay for purchases in installments — and more often than not from their cell phones.

According to new data from Adobe, buy now, pay later accounted for $6.9 billion in holiday spending from November 1 to November 28, with nearly 80% of purchases made on mobile devices.

On Black Friday, buy now, pay later is expected to rack up $711.3 million in sales by midnight — a 12.8% increase year over year. And come Cyber Monday, Adobe forecasts a record-breaking single day of buy now, pay later spending — $993 million.

Overall, shoppers are spending more than ever this Thanksgiving, with $6.1 billion spent online, according to Adobe. And roughly 60% of online consumers placed orders from their mobile devices.

"Cyber Week is off to a strong start, where bigger-than-expected discounts on Thanksgiving propelled impulse shopping in categories like electronics and apparel," Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights, said in a statement. "As people gathered with family and friends, many were hitting the buy button on their mobile devices, which hit an all-time high for the overall holiday season."

Buy now, pay later is available in many online stores via partnerships with companies like Affirm, Afterpay, and Klarna. They allow customers to pay a percentage of the total upfront and typically make interest-free payments over a set time.

A recent Harvard Business Review report found that buy now, pay later consumers spent an average of 10% more per purchase than they did without the option. And more often than not, those overspending were "financially constrained" credit-card-reliant consumers, according to the report.

BNPL has not been largely regulated, and the study warns that if consumers continue to spend more than they can afford on buy now, pay later purchases, they could accrue more debt.