Adobe’s annual 2022 Holiday Shopping Trends report was published this week, with two of the five “Hot Items” at the top of the list coming from the gaming business. Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was the hottest game, while the hottest console was Microsoft’s Xbox Series X. To add perspective, the other Hot Items rounding out the top five were Bluey, the children’s show, drones, and the MacBook Pro.
The criteria to be a “Hot Item” has not been publicly shared, meaning that it is unknown what the difference between the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X was for Black Friday. While the unofficial Holiday is known for incredible deals, the Xbox Series X had no notable discounts, deals, or bundles to fuel sales. UK retailer Very appeared to have the best deal, offering £20 off the standard £449.99 retail price.
Across the Ocean in the United States, Verizon had the only Xbox Series X-related deal of note, with 18% off the 24-month Xbox All Access subscription service. In both regions, the Xbox Series S was more heavily discounted than the Series X, with £60 off in the UK and $50 off in the US. While the Series S is less powerful, the difference between the two consoles may not even be noticeable to the more casual crowd, making the more expensive one ending up as a “Hot Item” more impressive for Microsoft. The Series S does not have a disc drive though, which makes it impossible to play boxed games.
Last year’s Holiday Shopping Trends were determined through Adobe’s analysis of 1 trillion online store visits and surveying 1000 retailers. This year’s methodology has yet to be shared with the public, but given past reports, Adobe has proven to provide some of the most accurate sales data for online retail. The news comes at a good time for Microsoft, as the company is starting to admit a limit on the number of existing Game Pass subscribers and the battle over getting approval for the Activision acquisition is heating up, particularly in the UK.
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