Online spending in the United States and Canada is expected to hit a record for "Black Friday," according to Adobe Analytics, as sharp discounts attracted consumers amid high inflation, kicking off the biggest shopping event of the year strongly.

Preliminary figures from Adobe Analytics also showed that shoppers are expected to spend between $9 billion and $9.2 billion online on Friday, slightly exceeding its forecast by 1% to $9 billion.

As of 6 p.m. EST Friday, Adobe data showed shoppers had spent an estimated $7.28 billion online.

Vivek Pandya, senior analyst at Adobe, also said: "Demand for e-commerce remained strong regardless, and Black Friday sales are set to exceed $9 billion in online sales for the first time, with consumers valuing the ease and convenience of shopping from home."

Pandya added that "some shoppers are returning to actual stores for Black Friday, after two years where pandemic-related concerns kept many people at home."

Adobe Analytics, which measures e-commerce by tracking transactions on websites, has access to data covering purchases at 85% of the top 100 online retailers in the United States.

Also, Adobe’s analytics covers more than 1 trillion visits to retail sites, and Adobe does not disclose the names of the company sites it tracks.

In the same context, more Americans placed orders via their smartphones during the holiday, and mobile shopping is expected to account for a 53% increase in Black Friday online sales, with mobile orders making up 55% of Thanksgiving online sales.