Cyber Monday smashes online shopping records

U.S. online shoppers spent a total of $12.4 billion on Cyber Monday, marking an increase of 9.6% on a year ago and setting a new record for the day.

During the busiest hour (10 p.m. to 11 p.m. pm ET), shoppers spent an astonishing $15.7 million every minute, according to data from Adobe Analytics.

Cost-conscious shoppers saw major discounts in categories such as electronics (peaking at 31% off listed price), toys (27%), apparel (23%), furniture (21%), and appliances (18%).

“Top sellers on Cyber Monday included toys such as Hot Wheels, Mario Kart toys, Disney Pixar Cars toys, Disney Junior Minnie Mouse toys and playsets, and LEGOs,” Adobe said. “Top selling gaming consoles included Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch — and top games included Spiderman 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, NBA 2k24, and Super Mario Bros. Wonder.”

Buy-now-pay-later usage also hit an all-time high, driving $940 million in online spending, up 42.5% on the same day last year.

The period from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, known as Cyber Week, saw online spending reach $38 billion, up 7.8% on last year.

Breaking it down, Thanksgiving raked in $5.6 billion for retailers, up 5.5% year-on-year; Black Friday saw online spending reach $9.8 billion, up 7.5%; and over the weekend shoppers spent $10.3 billion, marking an increase of 7.7%.

The smartphone established itself as the go-to device for online shopping, with 59% of online sales on Thanksgiving coming via the device, compared to 55% last year. Smartphones also drove 51.8% of online sales during Cyber Week, up from 49.9% in 2022.

“Mobile has become a key growth driver in the digital economy, and the increased usage shows that many consumers now find the experience on par with desktop shopping,” Adobe said, noting that deals “will continue to linger” throughout this week.

“The 2023 holiday shopping season began with a lot of uncertainty, as consumers shifted their spending to services, while dealing with rising costs across different facets of their lives,” said Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights. “The record online spending across Cyber Week, however, shows the impact that discounts can have on consumer demand, especially with quality products that drove a lot of impulse shopping.”

Adobe gathers its data by analyzing direct consumer transactions online. The analysis covers over one trillion visits to U.S. retail sites, 100 million SKUs (stock-keeping units), and 18 product categories.

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