AI-Driven Shopping Surge Influences Black Friday — These Tech ETFs Could Gain Advantage
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Dec 02 2025
0mins
Should l Buy AAPL?
Source: Benzinga
AI's Role in Retail: Artificial intelligence has become a crucial intermediary in retail, significantly influencing consumer behavior during Black Friday shopping, with AI-driven traffic to retail websites increasing by over 800%.
Impact on Spending: U.S. online spending reached $11.8 billion on Black Friday, a 9.1% increase from the previous year, while e-commerce growth outpaced in-store sales, highlighting the effectiveness of AI in product discovery and deal-hunting.
ETFs Benefiting from AI: Technology-focused ETFs, such as the iShares U.S. Technology ETF and Global X Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF, are positioned to benefit from the growing reliance on AI in retail, as they include major companies like Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft.
Consumer Behavior Trends: Despite increased spending, consumers purchased fewer items per order due to higher prices and inflation concerns, indicating a cautious approach to holiday shopping, with expectations for Cyber Monday to set new records.
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Analyst Views on AAPL
Wall Street analysts forecast AAPL stock price to rise
27 Analyst Rating
17 Buy
9 Hold
1 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 293.320
Low
239.00
Averages
306.89
High
350.00
Current: 293.320
Low
239.00
Averages
306.89
High
350.00
About AAPL
Apple Inc. designs, manufactures and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables and accessories, and sells a variety of related services. Its product categories include iPhone, Mac, iPad, Wearables, Home and Accessories. Its services include advertising, AppleCare, cloud services, digital content, and payment services. The Company operates various platforms, including the App Store, that allow customers to discover and download applications and digital content, such as books, music, video, games and podcasts. It also offers digital content through subscription-based services, including Apple Arcade, Apple Fitness+, Apple Music, Apple News+, and Apple TV+. Its wearables include smartwatches, wireless headphones, and spatial computers. Its products include iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16, iPhone 15, iPhone 14, iPhone SE, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, Mac Pro, iPad Pro, iPad Air, AirPods, AirPods Pro, AirPods Max, Apple TV, Apple Vision Pro and others.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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- Commercial Customer Growth: The number of U.S. commercial customers has expanded from a handful to 615, with the latest quarter showing a 133% year-over-year increase in commercial revenue to $595 million, highlighting the company's successful market expansion.
- AI Platform Launch: In 2023, Palantir launched its Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP), enabling customers to quickly apply AI to real-world problems, enhancing decision-making efficiency and innovation, which further drives revenue growth.
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See More
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- Investor Sentiment: The rise in tech stocks has significantly improved market sentiment, potentially attracting more capital into the sector and enhancing overall market performance.
- Sector Performance: The State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF demonstrated a strong market response, suggesting that investors are optimistic about the future growth potential of technology companies.
- Potential Impact: The increase in tech stocks may not only stimulate share prices of related companies but also influence investment decisions across other sectors, further driving the overall market recovery.
See More
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- Zero-Day Exploitation: Hackers utilized AI models to discover and exploit zero-day vulnerabilities, bypassing two-factor authentication, indicating that cyber attackers are leveraging advanced technologies to enhance their attack capabilities, potentially causing significant harm to businesses and government agencies.
- Industry Response: Following Google's report, concerns within the industry about the misuse of AI tools intensified, particularly as Anthropic delayed the rollout of its Mythos model due to fears of criminal exploitation, reflecting a heightened focus on cybersecurity.
- National Security Threats: The report noted that hacker groups linked to China and North Korea have shown significant interest in using AI for vulnerability discovery, underscoring potential risks to national security and prompting governments and businesses to strengthen their defenses.
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