Black Friday online sales hit all-time high of $9 billion

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- It appears people went on a shopping spree this weekend and didn't hold back. Black Friday online sales hit an all-time high of $9 billion.

And there were also plenty of people shopping in person.

"I think we're probably still seeing a lot of that pent up demand from the frustrations of the pandemic, and people are just happy to be back to normal," said Cristel Russell from the Pepperdine Graziadio Business School.

At Classic Toys on Ventura Boulevard, we found Lisa Stark buying a few presents.

"This store is fabulous but also it's an independent store, and I wanted to support independent businesses," says Stark.

According to Sensormatic Solutions, Black Friday in-store traffic went up by 2.9% compared to last year. Visits to physical stores on Thanksgiving Day increased by 19.7%.

Consumers are now turning online for Cyber Monday to score more discounts on gifts and other items that have ballooned in price because of high inflation.

Adobe Analytics, which tracks transactions for top online retailers, forecasts Cyber Monday will remain the year's biggest online shopping day and rake in up to $11.6 billion in sales.

Some analysts expect the amount of items consumers purchase could remain unchanged - or even fall - compared to prior years. And profit margins are expected to be tight for retailers offering deeper discounts to attract budget-conscious consumers and clear out their bloated inventories.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.