Techin' Geek

Over the weekend, South Korean e-commerce site Coupang announced that nearly 34 million personal details of Korean users had been exposed in a data breach that persisted for over five months.

The firm stated it initially discovered the unauthorized exposure of 4,500 user accounts on November 18, but a further inquiry revealed that around 33.7 million customer accounts in South Korea had actually been compromised.

According to Coupang, the breach impacted customers’ names, email addresses, phone numbers, shipping addresses, and certain order histories. However, the company confirmed that more sensitive information such as payment details, credit card numbers, and login credentials was not affected and remains safe.

Coupang reported the incident to the Korea Internet Security Agency (KISA), the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC), and the National Police Agency.

As one of South Korea’s largest e-commerce platforms, Coupang also provides a rapid delivery service named “Rocket Delivery” in the nation, while operating its marketplace in Japan and Taiwan. A Coupang representative informed TechCrunch that the investigation uncovered no signs that customer data from Coupang Taiwan or Rocket Now was impacted by the breach.

“The current investigation indicates that unauthorized access to personal information commenced on June 24, 2025, using overseas servers,” the company stated. “Coupang has blocked the access route, enhanced internal monitoring, and engaged experts from a top independent security firm.”

Reports suggest that police have identified at least one suspect, a former Chinese employee of Coupang now located abroad, following an investigation that was initiated after a complaint on November 18.

This marks the latest in a series of cybersecurity challenges encountered in South Korea this year. Coupang itself has experienced multiple data breaches in prior years that exposed information of customers and delivery drivers. Previous incidents occurred between 2020 and 2021, and most recently in December 2023, when its seller management system revealed personal details of over 22,000 customers.

When Will Bruey discusses the future, the projections are more immediate than many think. The CEO of Varda Space Industries forecasts that in 10 years, individuals could be present at landing spots witnessing several specialized spacecraft each night racing towards Earth akin to shooting stars, with each carrying pharmaceuticals produced in space. He claims that within 15 to 20 years, it will be less expensive to send a blue-collar worker to orbit for a month than to have them stay on Earth.

Bruey believes these predictions are plausible because he has witnessed ambitious business forecasts materialize in his time as an engineer at SpaceX.

“I recall the first rocket I was involved with at SpaceX was flight three of Falcon 9,” he mentioned at TechCrunch’s latest Disrupt event. The partially reusable, two-stage, medium-lift launch vehicle has since finished nearly 600 successful missions. “If someone had mentioned ‘reusable rockets’ and ‘[we’ll witness] as many [of these] flights as daily flights out of LAX,’ I would have thought, ‘Okay, [maybe in] 15 to 20 years,’ and this feels similarly futuristic.”

Varda has already demonstrated the essential idea. In February 2024, following an extensive regulatory journey, the company became the third corporate entity ever to retrieve something from orbit – crystals of ritonavir, an HIV medication – joining SpaceX and Boeing in that select group. It has conducted several missions since then.

The corporation returns its pharmaceuticals to Earth inside the W-1 capsule, a small, conical spacecraft measuring about 90 centimeters in diameter, 74 centimeters tall, and weighing less than 90 kilograms (roughly the equivalent of a large kitchen trash container). This week, the company launched its fifth capsule aboard a SpaceX ride-share mission, utilizing a spacecraft bus that provides power, communications, propulsion, and control during orbit.

So why create crystals in space? In microgravity, the typical forces that disrupt crystal formation on Earth – like sedimentation and gravity affecting growing crystals – essentially vanish. Varda posits that this allows for much tighter control over crystallization, enabling the formation of crystals with consistent sizes or even novel polymorphs (different structural forms of the same molecule). These advancements can lead to tangible benefits: enhanced stability, increased purity, and extended shelf life for pharmaceuticals.

The process is not rapid. Pharmaceutical production can take weeks or months in orbit. However, once completed, the capsule separates from the spacecraft bus and plummets back through Earth’s atmosphere at speeds exceeding 30,000 kilometers per hour, achieving velocities above Mach 25. A heat shield made of NASA-developed carbon ablator material safeguards the cargo inside, while a parachute ensures a gentle landing.

The actual business aspect is rather straightforward, Bruey pointed out. “Put space aside for a moment,” he said. “We just have this magical oven . . . where you can create formulations that you couldn’t otherwise.” Bruey clarified a common misunderstanding about Varda, stating that the company isn’t “in the space industry; we’re in-space industry,” he noted. Space is “merely another destination for shipping.”

It’s important to note: Varda is not on a quest to discover new drugs or develop new molecules. Its goal is to broaden the scope of what can be achieved with existing, approved pharmaceuticals.

This isn’t speculative science, either. Companies like Bristol Myers Squibb and Merck have been conducting pharmaceutical crystallization studies on the International Space Station for years, verifying that the concept is effective. Varda asserts it is commercializing this by establishing the infrastructure to operate it continuously, consistently, and at a scale that could genuinely impact the pharmaceutical sector.

Regarding the timing, two significant changes have occurred. Firstly, space launches have become more accessible and predictable. “A decade ago, you needed to book a chartered flight. Getting to orbit felt like hitchhiking unless you were a primary mission payload,” Bruey clarified. “It remains costly today, but [it’s reliable, you can schedule a slot, and we [have] arranged launches years ahead.”

Secondly, complete space service companies like Rocket Lab began producing satellite buses available for purchase. Acquiring spacecraft from Rocket Lab and integrating its pharmaceutical production capsules with them represents a substantial breakthrough.

Nonetheless, only the highest-value goods are economically feasible. That’s why Varda initiated its focus on pharmaceuticals; a medication that can command thousands of dollars per dose can absorb transportation expenses. 

The “seven domino” theory

When Bruey speaks with lawmakers, which he mentions he frequently does nowadays, he presents what he refers to as the “seven domino theory.” 

Domino one: reusable rockets. Accomplished. Domino two: producing drugs in orbit and returning them. Domino three is significant: getting a medication into clinical trials. “This is notable because it signifies continuous launches.”

This illustrates where Varda’s business model fundamentally diverges from that of other space enterprises.

Consider how satellite companies operate. SiriusXM launches satellites for radio broadcasts. DirecTV deploys satellites for television transmission. Even Starlink, with its multitude of satellites, is fundamentally constructing a constellation – a network that, once established, doesn’t require ongoing launches to function. These businesses regard launching as a capital expense. They invest money to place hardware in orbit, and then it’s complete.

Varda operates differently. Every drug formulation necessitates manufacturing cycles. Manufacturing cycles necessitate launches. Increased demand for the medications results in more launches.

This is significant because it alters the economic landscape for launch service providers. Instead of offering a limited number of launches to build a constellation, they have a client with (theoretically) unlimited demand that expands with success. That kind of consistent, scalable demand aids in justifying the fixed costs associated with launch infrastructure and reduces per-launch prices.

Domino four initiates the feedback loop: as Varda expands, costs diminish, rendering the next tier of drugs economically feasible. An increase in drug offerings equates to greater scale, further lowering costs – a cycle Bruey claims will “drive launch costs into the ground.”

Varda’s commercial feasibility is yet to be proven, and no space-manufactured medications are currently available at pharmacies. However, the beneficial cycle that Bruey envisions will also benefit entities beyond Varda. Reduced launch costs enhance accessibility for other sectors, including semiconductors, fiber optics, and exotic materials – everything that gains from microgravity but can’t yet rationalize the cost.

Ultimately, Bruey tells his team that launch expenses will decline to the point where sending an employee to orbit for a month will become less expensive than creating additional automation.

“I envision ‘Jane’ travels to space for a month. It’ll be akin to [going to] an oil rig. She toils at the drug manufacturing facility for a month, returns, and [becomes] the first individual to go to space and back while generating more value than her travel cost.”

It is at that moment, Bruey says, when “the invisible hand of the free market economy elevates us off our home planet.”

The near-death experience

The journey towards those shooting star drug deliveries almost came to a halt before it really began, Bruey recounted to TechCrunch.

Varda launched W-1 in June 2023 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare mission. The pharmaceutical manufacturing process within the capsule performed as intended, yielding crystals of Form III ritonavir, a specific crystalline formation of the drug that’s challenging to produce on Earth. The experiments were completed within weeks.

However, the capsule ended up just . . . remaining in orbit. For six months. The issue wasn’t technical, Bruey clarified; Varda struggled to obtain approval to return its W-1 capsule home.

The Utah Test and Training Range, where Varda sought to land, was established to “test weaponry and train fighters,” as Bruey described. Space pharmaceuticals didn’t fit that category, resulting in Varda not being prioritized. When higher-priority military missions required the range, they displaced Varda’s planned landing slots. Each delay rendered the company’s reentry license with the FAA invalid, necessitating a restart of the approval process.

“Eighty people in the office had devoted two and a half years of their lives to this project, and it was in orbit, but we were uncertain if it could return,” Bruey reminisced.

Outwardly, the situation seemed dire. To onlookers, it appeared that Varda had acted recklessly and launched without proper authorization. However, he explained that in reality, the FAA had permitted Varda to launch without a finalized reentry license as the agency wished to stimulate the emerging commercial reentry sector.

The FAA had granted Varda permission to launch while still working on a finalized reentry license, encouraging the nascent commercial reentry industry.

“They urged us to move forward with our launch, with the understanding that we would persist in coordinating that license, along with reentry timing with the range, while we were in orbit,” Bruey elucidated.

The actual dilemma was that this was the very first commercial land reentry ever attempted. There was no established protocol for the Utah range to cooperate with the FAA. Both organizations felt burdensome liability.

Varda examined every conceivable alternative. Water landing? The capsule doesn’t float; it would be lost. Australia? A possibility, and discussions were initiated. But Bruey indicated that he made a decisive move: no compromises.

“Either you must push the limits of regulation to create this future, or you don’t,” he asserted. “For Varda to succeed, we have to land on land consistently. So we just accepted it and said, ‘Let’s tackle this.”

While its inaugural mission was stranded in orbit, the company pressed on with production for the subsequent capsule. It continued to hire new talent.

In February 2024, eight months after launch, W-1 finally returned. It landed as intended at the Utah Test and Training Range, becoming the first commercial spacecraft to land on a military test range and the first to reenter U.S. soil under the FAA’s Part 450 licensing framework, which the agency introduced in 2021 to provide greater flexibility for commercial space missions.

Currently, Varda has landing sites in both the U.S. and Australia, and it is the first company to obtain an FAA Part 450 operator license allowing it to reenter the U.S. without the need for resubmitting complete safety documentation for each flight.

Additionally, Varda has developed a secondary business born out of necessity: hypersonic testing.

Few objects ever pass through the atmosphere at Mach 25. The conditions at those velocities are extreme and distinctive: temperatures soar into the thousands of degrees, forming a plasma sheath around a vehicle. The air itself undergoes chemical transformations as molecules are shattered and reformed. This environment cannot be replicated on Earth, even in the most sophisticated wind tunnels.

The Air Force and other defense organizations require testing for materials, sensors, navigation systems, and communications technology under authentic hypersonic conditions. Traditionally, this would entail dedicated test flights costing upwards of $100 million each, with considerable risk involved.

Varda provides an alternative. Its W-1 capsules already reenter at Mach 25. The company can integrate sensors, evaluate new thermal protective materials, or validate equipment in real flight conditions as opposed to approximations. The capsule serves as a wind tunnel, and the reentry acts as the test.

Varda has conducted experiments for the Air Force Research Laboratory, including an optical emission spectroscopy payload that collected in-situ measurements of the shock layer during reentry.

Investors are, not surprisingly, enthusiastic about Varda’s narrative. The company secured $329 million during its Series C round this past July, with the majority allocated for expanding its pharmaceutical lab in El Segundo. It’s also recruiting structural biologists and crystallization experts to work on more intricate molecules, eventually targeting biologics like monoclonal antibodies, a market Bruey claims amounts to $210 billion.

A considerable amount must align between now and then for Varda to carve out its place in that industry as well as to impact the market it is currently aiming at. But if Bruey is correct, “then” is nearer than most currently realize.

James Cameron’s films frequently push the boundaries of visual effects technology — particularly the “Avatar” series, featuring the iconic blue Na’vi characters brought to life via performance capture.

However, this does not mean Cameron embraces generative AI.

In a CBS Sunday Morning interview connected to the forthcoming release of “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” the filmmaker recognized that performance capture (where an actor’s performance is recorded to serve as a reference for digital artists) might seem akin to genAI. Yet, he stated it’s actually “the opposite.”

“For years, there has been this notion that, ‘Oh they’re doing something weird with computers, and they’re substituting actors,’” Cameron remarked. “When in truth, once you really delve into it and see what we’re doing, it’s a tribute to the actor-director collaboration.”

In fact, the CBS segment depicts members of the “Avatar” cast executing their underwater scenes in a 250,000-gallon water tank.

“On the far opposite end of the spectrum is generative AI, where they can invent a character, fabricate an actor, or create a performance entirely from scratch using a text prompt,” Cameron continued. “No, that’s terrifying … That’s precisely what we are not doing.”

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David Sacks’ position as President Donald Trump’s czar for artificial intelligence and crypto may prove advantageous for both his investments and those of his associates, as indicated by a new report from The New York Times.

In response, Sacks defended himself in a post on X, outlining a five-month investigative process during which the claims were “thoroughly debunked.”

“Today, they seemingly just gave up and released this trivial piece,” Sacks stated. “Anyone who examines the article closely can tell that they cobbled together a collection of anecdotes that fail to substantiate the headline.”

This is not the first occasion where critics have pointed out potential conflicts of interest between Sacks’ political duties and his investments. For instance, Senator Elizabeth Warren — a Democrat from Massachusetts — remarked earlier this year that Sacks “simultaneously manages a firm that invests in crypto while shaping the nation’s crypto policy,” an “obvious conflict of interest” that would “typically” be barred under federal law.

However, the NYT’s article (under the title “Silicon Valley’s Man in the White House is Benefiting Himself and His Friends,” attributed to five named reporters) appears to provide a deeper insight, analyzing his financial disclosures which indicate that out of Sacks’ 708 tech investments, 449 are AI firms likely to gain from the policies he supports.

Sacks has received two ethics waivers from the White House asserting he would divest most of his crypto and AI assets. Nonetheless, the NYT claimed that his public ethics disclosures do not reveal the remaining worth of his crypto and AI investments, nor do they specify when he sold the assets he divested.

Kathleen Clark, a government ethics law professor at Washington University, echoed similar sentiments in July after assessing Sacks’ crypto waiver, telling TechCrunch, “This constitutes graft.”

The NYT also reported that Sacks’ disclosures categorize hundreds of investments as hardware or software instead of AI, despite the companies marketing themselves as AI businesses.

To exemplify Sacks’ “interconnected interests,” the NYT referenced the White House summit in July where Trump revealed his AI strategy — White House chief of staff Susie Wiles allegedly intervened to ensure the All-In podcast (which Sacks co-hosts) was not the sole host of the event. Furthermore, All-In reportedly solicited potential sponsors for $1 million for access to a private reception and additional events, the NYT asserted.

The NYT also mentioned that Sacks developed a close relationship with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang this spring and has been influential in lifting restrictions on Nvidia chip sales worldwide, including to China.

Right-wing media figure and former Trump adviser Steve Bannon (who has openly expressed disdain for some of Trump’s Silicon Valley allies) stated that Sacks exemplifies an administration where “the tech bros are out of control.”

Sacks’ spokesperson Jessica Hoffman informed the NYT that “this narrative of conflict of interest is unfounded.” Hoffman asserted that Sacks has adhered to the regulations for special government employees, that the Office of Government Ethics determined which investments he needed to divest, and that his role in government has been more of a financial cost than a benefit.

White House spokesperson Liz Huston remarked that Sacks has been “an invaluable asset for President Trump’s mission of establishing American technology supremacy.”

Sacks’ response to the NYT includes a letter addressed to the newspaper from Clare Locke, a law firm that Sacks enlisted, claiming that the reporters were given “specific directives: to uncover and report on a conflict of interest between Mr. Sacks’ responsibilities in the White House and his experience in the private tech sector.”

The letter also clarifies aspects of the NYT article, including the All-In podcast’s involvement in the White House AI event. Sacks’ legal team stated that the AI summit was a not-for-profit affair, and that the All-In podcast “incurred losses in hosting the event.”

“Two sponsors were engaged to help cover some of the event’s expenses, for which they received nothing except for logo placements,” the letter stated. “No access to President Trump was offered, and no VIP gathering ever took place.”

On November 30, 2022, OpenAI launched a new offering, humbly describing it as “a model referred to as ChatGPT, which engages in a conversational manner.”

It’s not an exaggeration to claim that ChatGPT subsequently revolutionized the realms of business and technology, gaining immense popularity — it continues to hold the top position in Apple’s free app rankings today — while also acting as the trigger for an influx of generative AI solutions.

It has even made individuals wary of the em dash, which no chatbot will ever take from me.

In fact, “Empire of AI” author Karen Hao contended in a recent discussion with TechCrunch that OpenAI has “already become more influential than almost any nation-state globally,” and is currently “reshaping our geopolitics, impacting all of our lives.”

There could be even more significant transformations ahead. Charlie Warzel wrote in The Atlantic that we are presently inhabiting “the world ChatGPT constructed,” characterized by a specific kind of uncertainty and is “constantly anticipating a calamity.”

“Younger generations experience this instability keenly as they get ready to enter a workforce where they are warned that predictable career paths may not exist,” Warzel stated. “Older generations, likewise, are informed that the future could be unrecognizable, and the skills they have developed may not hold value.”

Naturally, some hold a more positive view of an AI-dominated future, and indeed stand to gain significantly from it. Yet in Warzel’s account, the AI advocates and investors are waiting along with everyone else — waiting to determine if their investments yield returns, but also waiting “because a defining characteristic of generative AI, as per its fervent supporters, is that it is never in its ultimate form.”

In the meantime, Bloomberg examined how ChatGPT has reshaped the stock market. The most apparent beneficiary thus far has been Nvidia, with its stock soaring 979% since the chatbot’s debut. However, AI enthusiasm has also lifted other major tech firms, with the seven most valuable entities on the S&P 500 — Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Broadcom — all connected to technology, and their combined growth accounting for nearly half of the benchmark’s 64% rise since the launch of ChatGPT.

This has contributed to a more top-heavy marketplace. The S&P 500 is weighted based on market capitalization, and these same seven firms now represent 35% of the weighting, compared to about 20% three years prior.

How long will this growth endure? With the notable exception of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, it has become increasingly typical for AI leaders to admit that we could be experiencing a bubble (or, if you prefer, a “mania”).

 “Someone will end up losing a tremendous amount of money in AI,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman remarked in August, during a dinner with journalists.

Likewise, Sierra CEO and OpenAI board chair Bret Taylor concurred that we are “in a bubble,” comparing it to the dot-com boom of the late ‘90s. While certain companies may falter, he forecasted, “AI will revolutionize the economy, and I believe it will, like the internet, generate substantial economic value in the future.”

In another three years — or less — we may find out whether that optimism was justified.

Finland’s climate is famously harsh; however, there’s a chance that a drone will bring your food order to you.

During a rainy day following Helsinki’s yearly Slush conference, Finnish entrepreneur Ville Leppälä provided TechCrunch with an inside look at a three-way collaboration involving Irish drone delivery company Manna, DoorDash’s food delivery service Wolt, and his startup, Huuva.

Huuva, which translates to kitchen hood, secured a seed funding round led by General Catalyst in 2022, aiming to deliver quality food to suburban areas. Despite evolving from its cloud kitchen beginnings, it still heavily depends on delivery technology — now featuring drones.

“If feasible, we’ll dispatch your order via drone.” This is the message Wolt has been sending to customers placing orders from Huuva’s Niittari site in Espoo, located in the Helsinki metropolitan area, which Leppälä believes is particularly suited for this model.

Leveraging Manna’s experience of completing more than 50,000 deliveries in Dublin, operations in Finland commenced swiftly once the necessary licenses were acquired. Following a pilot phase in February, the drones have been fully operational for the last couple of months in Espoo, launching from a platform that’s shared with the delivery-only grocery outlet Wolt Market.

For customers, this indicates that they can request various food types from Huuva’s partner brands and also order some groceries — each drone is capable of carrying approximately 4.4 lb, and Manna can deploy two simultaneously. 

This provides an additional level of convenience and swiftness. Unlike drivers, drones aren’t delayed by traffic during peak hours. Leppälä emphasized that this is crucial for ensuring the food remains fresh; it also benefits Huuva by making the unit economics more viable. 

Huuva’s team estimates that standard deliveries now cost approximately €5-6 each (around $6-8), while drone deliveries could reduce that to €1 ($1.16). This figure does not factor in the additional expenses that Manna might be encountering while establishing its operations in Finland, which, despite possible challenges, were less daunting than for new entrants.

Having originated from Ireland, Manna’s drones have undergone comprehensive testing for wind and rain, including conditions where snow is a factor. Although icing complicates matters, Makar Nalimov, who oversees local operations and maintenance, mentioned that in such scenarios, they simply resort to alternative delivery methods, especially as the use of de-icing chemicals isn’t feasible when food is involved.

These alternative provisions underscore that Manna’s drones form part of an expanding suite of last-mile delivery options. Wolt is already utilizing sidewalk robots from Coco and Starship in Finland, while its parent firm DoorDash has developed its own robot, Dot, which began making deliveries in Arizona earlier this year.

As rumors circulate regarding DoorDash potentially creating its own drone delivery initiative, alongside its partnership with Alphabet-owned Wing, direct collaborations could offer advantages to companies like Manna and Huuva. The food startup is contemplating an extension to another location in Espoo where Wolt Market wouldn’t be in play, allowing the launchpad to be sufficiently close to the kitchen for deliveries to be handed directly through a window.

Currently, Manna’s launchpad is in close proximity; delivery personnel on e-scooters retrieve orders from the kitchen in an insulated bag, then transport them to Manna’s operators. Under Nalimov’s supervision, they weigh the orders and make adjustments as required before placing them in specialized bags that meet regulatory approval.

These durable bags are among numerous safety protocols that Manna adheres to in order to comply with regulations and its internal procedures. For example, battery swaps are routinely performed to ensure drones always operate at full capacity. Nalimov indicated that redundancy is incorporated at every level, along with readiness for various incident scenarios — including a parachute for emergency situations.

Although Manna has personnel present on the ground, Mission Control is located in Ireland. From there, operators evaluate the LiDAR maps, review the intended flight path, and drop a pin for the drone to deliver within a defined area surrounding the customer’s address. If conditions don’t meet the criteria, the order reverts to a courier. If authorized, the drone takes a photograph of the landing area for a final human check before lowering the package using biodegradable rope. 

This has become a standard procedure for Manna’s local staff, which is experiencing an increase in activity. Nalimov reported that he and his team now manage multiple deliveries daily and are confidently preparing for their inaugural winter season in Finland. Meanwhile, Huuva is set to intensify its drone delivery efforts in Espoo, with one additional desire: permission to emblazon its logo on those regulator-approved bags.

Globally, flights faced delays and cancellations following Airbus’s directive to implement fixes on 6,000 of its A320 series aircraft, as reported by The Guardian.

The firm stated that it is taking measures because “examination of a recent incident involving an A320 Family aircraft has indicated that high levels of solar radiation could disrupt data essential for the operation of flight controls.”

According to industry insiders, Reuters notes that the incident referenced was a JetBlue flight on October 30th from Cancun, Mexico to Newark, New Jersey, where the aircraft unexpectedly lost altitude and was compelled to execute an emergency landing in Tampa.

The Federal Aviation Administration has allegedly released an emergency airworthiness directive mandating that the affected aircraft revert to earlier software versions before resuming flights. Airbus mentioned that a smaller group will require hardware modifications.

U.S. shoppers allocated $11.8 billion online during Black Friday, as reported by Adobe Analytics, which monitors over 1 trillion visits to retail sites in the U.S.

This figure sets a new high, increasing from the $10.8 billion spent on Black Friday last year, according to Adobe. During the period from 10am to 2pm, online buyers were estimated to be spending $12.5 million each minute. Forbes mentions that Adobe indicated in a statement that these figures illustrate how Black Friday has evolved into “a significant e-commerce occasion, with more consumers choosing to remain home and capitalize on sales.” 

The firm anticipates that Cyber Monday (occurring in two days, on December 1) will be even larger, with $14.2 billion projected to be spent online, as stated by Reuters.

Black Friday statistics from organizations like Adobe and Salesforce can act as an early signal of wider holiday shopping patterns. Adobe forecasts a total of $253.4 billion in holiday expenditure for this year, in contrast to $241.1 billion in 2024.

Salesforce reported tracking $79 billion in worldwide spending on Black Friday, including $18 billion in the U.S., reflecting year-over-year growth of 6% and 3% respectively. However, this increase may be less about surging consumer demand and more about higher prices — Salesforce’s data also indicates an average price rise of 7%, while order volumes decreased by 1%.

Additionally, both Adobe and Salesforce assert that the impact of AI on holiday shopping is on the rise. For instance, Salesforce stated that between Thanksgiving and Black Friday, AI and AI agents contributed to $22 billion in global sales, although the scope of this definition remains ambiguous.

The data offers less clarity regarding how online trends stack up against in-store shopping at physical locations, with RetailNext informing Forbes that overall in-store traffic seems to have declined by 3.4% nationwide, while Pass_by reported an overall uptick in foot traffic of 1.17%, and a remarkable increase of 7.9% in department stores.