Shark Tank investor Kevin O'Leary has a message for holiday shoppers riding the wave of record-breaking Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales: those AI-powered deals are great, but don't be stupid about how you pay for them.

The Credit Card Dilemma

Speaking on Fox Business, O'Leary didn't mince words about the dangers lurking behind all that holiday spending. He called credit cards a "double-edged sword" and warned against carrying balances at around 20% interest rates, flatly calling that approach "stupid."

The Canadian investor acknowledged that online shopping during the Thanksgiving-to-Christmas stretch has reached unprecedented levels, driven largely by AI algorithms that tailor offers based on your buying history across platforms like TikTok and Instagram. But here's the catch: even with holiday spending jumping 10-20% during this period, you absolutely need a payoff plan.

O'Leary also flagged what he considers a troubling development among younger shoppers, particularly couples sharing a single credit card. He described this as a "bad trend" worth avoiding. His security advice? Keep it simple. Don't put multiple cards online, and stick with a single card that has a limited credit line. That way, if there's a security breach, you're minimizing potential damage.

Record-Breaking Holiday Shopping Numbers

The numbers behind this year's shopping frenzy are genuinely staggering. According to Adobe Analytics, U.S. shoppers dropped $8.6 billion online on Black Friday alone, marking a 9.4% increase from last year. Final Black Friday online sales were projected to land between $11.7 billion and $11.9 billion, setting a fresh record. Cyber Monday was even bigger, hitting $14.25 billion in sales.

But here's where things get interesting from a payment perspective. Buy Now, Pay Later services hit an all-time high, climbing 4.2% from last year and contributing more than $1 billion in online purchases just on Cyber Monday. Adobe projects total BNPL spending will reach $20.2 billion by season's end, an 11% jump from 2024.

The AI Shopping Revolution

AI isn't just a buzzword here—it's genuinely reshaping how people discover products and hunt for deals. The technology has driven a boom in personalized shopping experiences that are clearly working, at least from a sales perspective.

The financial implications, though, are another story. O'Leary's warnings align pretty closely with recent data from Bankrate showing that one in three Americans now has credit card debt exceeding their emergency savings. That's a precarious position to be in, especially when you're adding holiday purchases on top of existing balances.

The bottom line? Those AI algorithms are very good at getting you to buy things. Whether you can actually afford them at 20% interest is a different question entirely.