Breakdown of Cyber Monday Shopping Trends (2023)
Online consumers splurged $12.4 billion during Cyber Monday, as per Adobe's report.
In this digital era, even with inflation looming large, consumers didn't hesitate to splurge on Cyber Monday. According to the latest findings from Adobe Analytics, online spending surged by an impressive 9.6% year-over-year, hitting a whopping $12.4 billion. During the period of November 1 to November 27, total online consumer spending escalated to $109.3 billion, a respectable 7.3% rise from the previous year.
The festivities kicked off during the Thanksgiving weekend, with online sales witnessing a 7.8% y-o-y increase, totaling $38 billion. While Thanksgiving weekend exhibited the steepest year-over-year sales growth of 7.7% to $10.3 billion, Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday saw growth of 5.5% and 7.5%, respectively, at $5.6 billion and $9.8 billion.
Diving deeper into the trending payment methods, the buy now, pay later sales online demonstrated a 17% surge from 2022, amounting to $8.3 billion. Adobe anticipates this month (December) to set a new record for installment payment transactions.
Looking back on 2022, the Cyber Monday growth rate was comparatively modest, with consumers spending $11.3 billion online during the holiday, a 5.8% increase from the previous year. That year, toy sales experienced the highest sales growth in online spending, rocketing by a staggering 684% compared to an average day in October.
Mobile shopping trends are forecasted to spike this year, with smartphones accounting for an estimated 51.8% of online sales, marking an increase from 49.9% the year prior. On Thanksgiving Day itself, 59% of online sales occurred via smartphone.
During this year's Cyber Monday, retailers offered steepest discounts on electronics (up to 31% off), closely followed by toys (27%) and apparel (23%). Apparel sales showed a striking surge of 189% compared to the average day in November, exceeding gains in other categories like appliances (166%), furniture (129%), and electronics (103%).
Out of the $109.3 billion consumers spent between November 1 and November 27, 60% of those sales were driven by just five categories: electronics, apparel, furniture, groceries, and toys. As the busy holiday shopping season concludes, Adobe estimates shoppers will spend $221.8 billion between November 1 and December 31, amounting to a 4.8% increase from 2022.
Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights, opined, "The 2023 holiday shopping season began with a lot of uncertainty, as consumers adjusted their spending patterns, while grappling with rising costs across various dimensions of their lives. Nevertheless, the record online spending during Cyber Week underscores the impact that discounts can have on consumer demand, especially for high-quality merchandise that spurred a substantial deal of impulse buying."
- In the digital age, AI-powered finance and personal-finance platforms could predict the spending patterns of consumers on Cyber Monday, despite the ongoing inflation.
- The surge in online spending on Cyber Monday might prompt space agencies to reconsider their budgeting policies, as the amount of money spent on digital purchases accelerated this year.
- Weather forecasts for Monday might influence the sales trends, as consumers could stay indoors and continue their online shopping spree, rather than venturing out into the physical world.
- Breaking news on the television could impact the Cyber Monday shopping trends, as anxious consumers might postpone their purchases until they've obtained more data-and-cloud-computing insights regarding an unfolding event.
- The average consumer may find themselves bewildered by the steep discounts offered on electronics, toys, and apparel during Cyber Monday, with the spend felt more acutely in the context of this year's inflation.
- Li, an eco-conscious shopper, might forgo purchasing electronics on Cyber Monday, opting instead to invest in sustainable alternatives, critically analyzing the environmental impact of her technological decisions.
- With the record-breaking online sales on Cyber Monday, the trends in LI's personal-finance may jeopardize her savings, unless she learns to exercise prudence and restraint in her spending habits.
- Amidst all the digital splendor, traditional brick-and-mortar stores might envy the accelerated growth and sales seen on Cyber Monday this year, struggling to match the convenience and attractiveness of the online shopping experience.
