Cyber Monday Rings Up $10.8 Billion In Record Sales

Cyber Monday consumers rang up $10.8 billion in sales for the holiday, smashing records for the biggest online shopping day ever, according to new data from Adobe Analytics.

“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,” Taylor Schreiner, a director at Adobe Digital Insights, said in a blog post.

Sales on Cyber Monday increased 15.1 percent year over year, based on analysis from 80 of the leading 100 eCommerce merchants in the U.S., according to Adobe. The figures fell short of Adobe’s forecast of $12.7 billion. 

Adobe adjusted its online sales forecast slightly downward to $184 billion for the entire holiday season, a 30 percent hike over 2019. Original 2020 forecasts were $189 billion.

Cyber Monday orders for curbside pickup were up 30 percent from 2019, and 37 percent of digital sales were made on mobile devices, according to Adobe’s data.

From 7-11 p.m. Pacific time, the final hours of Cyber Monday sales, consumers spent $2.7 billion, which was about 25 percent of the day’s revenue, Adobe said.

Sales records were also set on Thanksgiving Day, with eCommerce spending totaling $5.1 billion, up almost 22 percent year over year. Black Friday sales also broke records, surging about 22 percent to $9 billion.

Cyber Monday played a smaller part in overall sales for big-box retailers like Walmart and Target. Deals were rolled out in mid-October to compete with Amazon Prime Day, and additional sales are planned for the weeks ahead. 

The pandemic-driven move to eCommerce reduced the thunder of metrics like overnight crowds and massive lines outside of physical retail stores.

The eCommerce surge propelled by the coronavirus pushed merchants to make Cyber Monday sale plans in advance, ensuring that warehouse shelves were stocked and delivery drivers were ready to roll. Record-breaking online sales since the start of the pandemic, however, have made it hard for merchants to predict what shoppers would be looking to buy.

Amazon sellers had record-breaking $4.8 billion in worldwide sales Black Friday through Cyber Monday, a 60 percent increase over 2019 sales for the same period.