Meta executive says holiday sales were earlier and bigger this year

The head of Meta Platforms' business group said on Wednesday that the holiday shopping season started earlier than usual this year and produced a Black Friday sales weekend that appeared to be the biggest on record.

Consumers anxious about supply shortages were stocking up early on desired gifts, while businesses with excess inventory sought to clear it out with heavy discounts, said Meta Vice President of Global Business Nicola Mendelsohn, speaking in an interview at the Reuters NEXT conference.

"We're seeing that there are more and more deals, and so we're helping obviously . . .