Record sales are expected this year on Cyber ​​Monday: up to $15.7 million spent per minute

Consumers in the United States were looking for deals online Monday as they look to take advantage of the post-Thanksgiving shopping marathon with Cyber ​​Monday.

Although e-commerce is now routine for many people and part of the holiday shopping season, Cyber ​​Monday – a term coined in 2005 by the National Retail Federation in the United States – has become the most biggest online shopping of the year. thanks to the offers and hype the industry has created to promote it.

Adobe Analytics, which tracks online shopping, expects consumers to spend a record $13.2 billion on Monday, up 6.1% from last year. That would make it the biggest shopping day of the season — and the year — for e-commerce.

Online spending is expected to peak between 8pm and 10pm on Monday, according to Adobe, with around $15.7 million spent every minute.

For some major retailers, Cyber ​​Monday is a multi-day event that began Thanksgiving weekend. Amazon started its sales event shortly after midnight Pacific on Saturday. Two days of discount offers on Target’s website and app began Sunday night. Walmart launched its Cyber ​​Monday deals for Walmart+ members on Sunday afternoon and opened them up to all customers three hours later at 8 p.m.

Year-end shopping indicatorConsumer spending during Cyber ​​Week, the five major shopping days between Thanksgiving and Cyber ​​Monday, provides a strong indication of how much shoppers are willing to spend for the holidays.

Many American consumers continue to experience a price shock after a period of pandemic-induced inflation that left the prices of many goods and services higher than they were three years ago. But retail sales have nevertheless remained strong and the US economy continues to grow at a healthy pace.

At the same time, credit card debt and defaults continue to rise. More shoppers than ever are also on track to take advantage of “buy now, pay later” plans this holiday season, allowing them to delay payments on holiday decorations, gifts and other items.

Many economists have also warned that President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to impose tariffs next year on foreign goods entering the United States would lead to higher prices for everything from food to clothing to cars. .

The National Retail Federation expects holiday shoppers to spend more this year both in stores and online than last year. But the pace of spending growth will slow slightly, the trade group said, rising between 2.5% and 3.5%, compared with 3.9% in 2023.

A clear sense of consumer spending patterns over the holiday season will not emerge until the government releases sales data for the period, although preliminary data from other sources show some encouraging signs for retailers.

Adobe Digital Insights analyst Vivek Pandya notes that Thanksgiving discounts have “exceeded expectations” and online spending during Cyber ​​Week is on track to surpass a record $40 billion.

There were more sales on Black FridayAmerican shoppers spent $10.8 billion on online purchases on Black Friday, a 10.2% increase from last year, according to Adobe Analytics. In 2017, Black Friday generated an estimated $5 billion in online sales. Consumers also spent a record $6.1 billion online on Thanksgiving, Adobe said.

Software company Salesforce, which also tracks online purchases, estimated that Black Friday online sales totaled $17.5 billion in the United States and $74.4 billion globally.

E-commerce platform Shopify said its merchants achieved a record $5 billion in sales worldwide on Black Friday. At their peak, sales reached $4.6 million per minute, with top categories by volume including apparel, cosmetics and fitness products, according to the Canadian company.

According to Adobe, toys, electronics, home goods, self-care and beauty were among the top drivers of holiday spending on Thanksgiving and Black Friday. “Star products” included Lego sets, espresso machines, fitness trackers, makeup and skin care.

Other data showed that brick-and-mortar stores saw fewer customers on Black Friday, underscoring how the large crowds once synonymous with the day after Thanksgiving are now more than happy to shop from the comfort of their homes.

RetailNext, which measures real-time foot traffic in stores, reported that its early data showed that store traffic on Friday was down 3.2% in the United States compared to last year, with the largest drop in the Midwest.

Sensormatic Solutions, which also tracks store traffic, said its preliminary analysis showed that retail store traffic on Black Friday was down 8.2% compared to 2023.

Grant Gustafson, head of retail consulting and analytics at Sensormatic Solutions, noted that store traffic was being spread over several days as many retailers offered generous discounts before and after Black Friday.

“Some of the extended Black Friday promotions actually ended up leading to softer traffic than expected on the day of the event,” Gustafson said.

While physical items like toys and electronics are always popular during the holidays, experts note that consumers have opted for more “experience-oriented” spending in recent years, especially as the COVID-19 pandemic spreads.

Jie Zhang, a marketing professor at the University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business, told The Associated Press that he expected shoppers to “spoil themselves a little more” when it comes to gifts for themselves, which has increased interest in personal care. articles.

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