Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) shares moved higher Monday, catching a tailwind from record-breaking Black Friday online sales that showcased just how much AI is reshaping the shopping experience.

AI Takes Center Stage on Black Friday

U.S. shoppers spent a record $11.8 billion online on Black Friday, up 9.1% from last year, according to Adobe Analytics data tracking 1 trillion visits to retail sites. The bigger story? AI-driven traffic to U.S. retailers exploded by 805% compared to 2024, as consumers turned to chatbots and virtual assistants to hunt down deals rather than braving crowded stores.

Mastercard SpendingPulse data underscored the shift: e-commerce sales jumped 10.4% on Black Friday, absolutely crushing the anemic 1.7% growth seen in physical stores. Salesforce reported U.S. online spending at $18 billion for the day, up 3% year-over-year. Globally, AI tools and digital agents influenced $14.2 billion in online sales, with $3 billion of that coming from American shoppers.

This momentum sets the stage for an enormous Cyber Monday. Adobe projects the day will generate $14.2 billion in sales, a 6.3% year-over-year increase that would make it the largest online shopping day of 2025.

AI assistants like Amazon's Rufus played a key role in helping shoppers navigate deals more efficiently. "Consumers are using new tools to get to what they need faster," said Suzy Davidkhanian, an analyst at eMarketer. "Gift giving can be stressful, and large language models make the discovery process feel quicker and more guided."

Amazon's Energy Efficiency Win

In separate news, Amazon and Trane Technologies (TT) announced results from an AI-powered initiative targeting energy efficiency at Amazon Grocery fulfillment centers. The pilot deployment across three North American sites cut energy consumption by nearly 15%, more than doubling the original goal.

Building on that success, the companies plan to expand the technology to over 30 Amazon Grocery fulfillment and distribution centers across the U.S., with grocery store pilots expected to launch in 2026.

What Analysts Are Saying

Amazon has drawn mixed but mostly positive analyst attention lately. On Monday, Oppenheimer maintained its outperform rating while lifting its price target to $305 from $290, potentially adding fuel to the stock's early-week gains. Rosenblatt showed similar confidence at the end of November, keeping its buy rating and $305 target.

Not everyone's equally enthusiastic, though. On November 18, Rothschild & Co downgraded Amazon to neutral from buy and set a more conservative $250 target. Meanwhile, Mizuho maintained an outperform rating on November 4, raising its target to $315 from $300, making it the most bullish among recent analyst moves.

AMZN Price Action: Amazon shares were up 0.56% at $234.52 at the time of publication on Monday.