Cyber Monday 2024 online sales surge to USD $13.3 billion

Adobe has reported that online spending during Cyber Monday 2024 reached USD $13.3 billion, marking a 7.3% increase compared to the previous year.

According to Adobe's provided data from Adobe Analytics, the total online expenditure during Cyber Week, which spans from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday, amounted to USD $41.1 billion, a rise of 8.2% year-on-year. Notably, between 8 pm and 10 pm on Cyber Monday, consumers were spending USD $15.8 million per minute, highlighting the peak shopping hours.

Black Friday also saw significant activity, with sales reaching USD $10.8 billion, a 10.2% increase year-on-year, while the weekend of November 30 to December 1 brought in USD $10.9 billion, up by 5.8% compared to the previous year. Adobe anticipates that the total online holiday shopping season, spanning from November 1 to December 31, 2024, will generate USD $240.8 billion in sales, reflecting an 8.4% increase from last year.

Mobile devices played a key role in this year's Cyber Monday sales, contributing 57% of the online purchases or USD $7.6 billion, which represents a 13.3% increase year-on-year. This marks an all-time high for mobile commerce, indicating a growing consumer comfort in using mobile devices for online transactions.

Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) options reached a new record, accounting for USD $991.2 million in spending on Cyber Monday, which is a 5.5% increase compared to last year. A significant portion of BNPL transactions were conducted through mobile devices, constituting 75.2% of activity on the platform.

Generative AI-powered chat bots are influencing online shopping trends. On Cyber Monday, they contributed to a substantial 1,950% increase in traffic to retail sites compared to the previous year. Although usage remains relatively modest, these chat bots are increasingly serving as helpful tools for consumers seeking deals or locating products rapidly.

Social media influencers are growing in their impact on online shopping habits. Adobe's analysis revealed that revenue share from "affiliates and partners," which encompasses influencers, reached 20.3% on Cyber Monday, marking a 6.8% year-on-year increase. Influencers were found to convert six times more shoppers than social media platforms overall, emphasising their effectiveness as a marketing channel.

Vivek Pandya, Lead Analyst at Adobe Digital Insights, commented on the trends: "While Cyber Monday remained the season's and year's biggest online shopping day, year-over-year growth was stronger on both Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Early discounts were strong enough that many consumers felt comfortable hitting the buy button earlier on during Cyber Week, with Cyber Monday becoming 'last call' for shoppers to take advantage of big holiday deals."

Among the e-commerce category performers on Cyber Monday, toys stood out with online sales increasing by 680% compared to an average day in October 2024. Other top-performing categories included personal care (530% increase), jewellery (478%), appliances (464%), and electronics (452%). The most popular products included toys such as Elf on the Shelf dolls and Harry Potter figurines, alongside gaming consoles like PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, and games including Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

The 2024 holiday season has seen a strong start with online spending from November 1 to December 2 reaching USD $131.5 billion, up by 9.0% compared to last year. Electronics, apparel, and furniture have driven a significant portion of the spending so far.

Despite inflation concerns, Adobe's Digital Price Index indicates that e-commerce prices have continued to decrease for 26 consecutive months, dropping 2.9% year-on-year as of October 2024. This price deflation suggests that the increase in consumer spending is being driven by genuine demand rather than rising prices.