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 over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for AAPL is 299.69 USD with a low forecast of 230.00 USD and a high forecast of 350.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
32 Analyst Rating
19 Buy
11 Hold
2 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 275.500
Low
230.00
Averages
299.69
High
350.00
Current: 275.500
Low
230.00
Averages
299.69
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, and Wearables, Home and Accessories. Its software platforms include iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, visionOS, and tvOS. 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 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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- Content Strategy Shift: Apple plans to reduce external content acquisitions and focus on producing high-quality in-house content, leveraging its own studio to increase content output in response to competitive pressures in the streaming market.
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- Increased Regulatory Pressure: FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson has urged CEO Tim Cook to review the terms of service and curation policies of Apple News, citing allegations of promoting left-leaning news while suppressing conservative content, which could lead to stricter regulations and a crisis of public trust for the company.
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See More
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- Gold and Bitcoin Drop: Gold futures sank 3%, while Bitcoin prices also declined to around $65,000, as investors adopted a risk-off stance, highlighting concerns about the future economic outlook.
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