Final Tally: Adobe Cites Record $10.8B Cyber Monday
U.S. consumers spent a record $10.8 billion on the Internet during Cyber Monday, establishing the event as the biggest online shopping day in history, according to Adobe Analytics.
Adobe’s final report on Cyber Monday was issued Tuesday morning. It followed earlier and higher estimates made prior to the conclusion of the event of $12.7 billion originally and, subsequently, $11.4 billion.
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Adobe said the $10.8 billion final tally represented a 15.1 percent increase from the $9.4 billion spent online during Cyber Monday 2019.
Consumers were driven to shop online by time-sensitive deals, a desire to have packages arrive ahead of Christmas and get what they wanted before supplies run out, and by concerns that shopping inside stores poses some risk of contracting the coronavirus. Curbside pickups of online orders was also a stimulus.
Cyber Monday would have been even bigger were it not for retailers this year promoting discounts on gifts as far back as mid- to late October, extending the holiday season.
Adobe said it analyzes 1 trillion visits to U.S. retail sites, 100 million stockkeeping units and 80 of the 100 largest retailers in the U.S.
Mobile activity accounted for 37 percent of the sales, Adobe said.
“Cyber Monday continued to dominate the holiday shopping season, becoming the biggest online shopping day in U.S. history, despite early discounts from retailers,” said Taylor Schreiner, director of Adobe Digital Insights.
“Throughout the remainder of the holiday season, we expect to see record sales continue and curbside pickup to gain even more momentum as shoppers avoid crowds and potential shipping delays,” Schreiner added.
Along the same lines, Salesforce, prior to the conclusion of Cyber Monday, projected U.S. online sales at $11.8 billion on the day, or 18 percent over last year. Globally, Salesforce projected online sales will reach $46 billion, or 25 percent ahead of last year’s event. And Customer Growth Partners estimated Cyber Monday to come in at $9.8 billion.
Cyber Monday put total season to date spending over the $100 billion threshold, at $106.5 billion, representing 27.7 percent year-over-year growth. Spending surpassed the $1 billion mark nine days faster than last year.
Today, (Giving Tuesday), Adobe estimates that consumers will continue to shop online “in strong numbers” and spend $4.1 billion on web sites, representing 26.3 percent growth over last year.
The “golden hours” of Cyber Monday, 7 to 11 p.m. Pacific time, or 4 to 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, accounted for 25 percent, or $2.7 billion, of Cyber Monday’s revenues, Adobe said.
During those peak hours, U.S. consumers spent at a rate of $12 million a minute.
Based on online shopping behaviors over the holiday weekend (Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday), Adobe predicts U.S. online holiday sales (Nov.1 through Dec. 31) will total $184 billion, representing a 30 percent increase from last year, and down slightly from the original forecast of $189 billion.
Adobe also said that discounts will weaken by 5 to 10 percent in the weeks running up to Christmas.
For Cyber Monday, Adobe said computers were discounted 28 percent; sporting goods, 20 percent; toys, 19 percent; appliances, 20 percent, and electronics, 27 percent.
Top sellers for Cyber Monday, according to Adobe, were Lego Sets, vTech Toys, scooters, video games, Apple AirPods, Apple watches, HP and Dell computers and Chromecast. Puzzles and games were also big sellers.
