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Online spending for Cyber Week (the sales period of five days from Thanksgiving through to the following Monday) is expected to total $37.2 billion.
According to Adobe Analytics data, online spend for the week increased by 5.5% year-on-year, with Cyber Monday, the biggest shopping day of the year, bringing in $12.4 billion (+9.6%). Thanksgiving Day drove a record 5.6 billion (+5.5%), while Black Friday also broke records at $9.8 billion (+7.5%).
The discount-heavy period was expected to drive spending as consumers sought out reductions following high inflation rates pushing up prices over the past year, driving up “Buy Now Pay Later” habits to an all-time high on Cyber Monday in the process, at around $7.3 billion (+14%).
During the peak hours of 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. ET, consumers spent $15.7 million every minute.
Criteo found the top performing categories this year to be luggage and bags, toys and games, furniture, apparel and accessories, and hardware.
“An uncertain demand environment pushed retailers to deliver big discounts this season, while also fortifying their ecommerce services with flexible payment methods, better personalization and enhanced mobile functionality” said Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights. “Consumers have taken note and spent at record rates during the big shopping days, despite dealing with rising costs in other parts of their lives.”
Based on a survey of 7,200 global retailers and brands, Criteo also found the consumer mood in the U.K. to have strengthened, with Black Friday sales up by 280% compared with October.
“With strong sales across product categories, retailers that offer online deals in addition to in-store offers are the clear winners of this sales event. However, Black Friday deals should not exist in a vacuum. Retailers must continue to offer competitive deals through the end of the year to drive conversions while consumers remain eager to shop and hunt for the best deal. By executing this strategy, retailers and brands can turn one-time shoppers into loyal, long-term customers,” explained Brian Gleason, chief revenue officer at Criteo.
According to Shopify numbers, the average cart price globally had reached $106.86, with point-of-sale purchases increasing by one-third (33%) in the U.S. and by 28% in the U.K. compared with last year. For Black Friday alone, Shopify merchants sold $4.1 billion globally ($4.2 million per minute), an increase of 22% in sales.
Shopify Merchants drove 4.1b in sales this Black Friday. Up 22% from last year 💪
Amazing job entrepreneurs. https://t.co/9W7kcEdynM pic.twitter.com/eEgHyBXZUY
— tobi lutke (@tobi) November 25, 2023
