Online holiday spending in the U.S. is expected to jump 5.3% year over year to $253.4 billion as consumers seek discounts and even enlist the help of artificial intelligence-powered chatbots, according to an Adobe Analytics report released Monday.

Yet that growth would still be slower than the year-ago holiday season, when online sales rose 8.7% from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31, the company said. Adobe's data tracks more than 1 trillion visits to U.S. retail websites, 100 million unique items and 18 different product categories.

That growth is also below the 10-year average of roughly 13% annually. That mark was partially skewed by the 32% year-over-year growth in 2020 when consumers leaned on retailers' online options during the Covid pandemic.

Customers' desire to celebrate the season with deco

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