"Record-Breaking Online Holiday Spending Soars, Driven by BNPL and Discounts"

Despite a 5% increase in U.S. online holiday spending, e-commerce stocks, including Amazon, saw a decline in early trading. Strong discounts and the popularity of Buy Now, Pay Later options contributed to the spending boost, but these factors did not translate into positive stock performance for companies like Amazon, Shopify, Etsy, and eBay. Amazon's stock is also facing pressure from reports of TikTok expanding its U.S. e-commerce operations. Overall, the growth in online spending is significant but still lags behind the 2020 surge.