Consumers are scouring the internet for online deals as they begin to cap off the five-day post-Thanksgiving shopping bonanza with Cyber Monday.
Even though e-commerce is now part and parcel of our everyday lives and much of the holiday shopping season, Cyber Monday 害羞草研究所� a term coined back in 2005 by the National Retail Federation 害羞草研究所� continues to be the biggest online shopping day of the year, thanks to the deals and the hype the industry has created to fuel it.
Adobe Analytics, which tracks online shopping, expects consumers to spend between害羞草研究所�$12.0 billion and $12.4 billion on Monday, making it the biggest online shopping day of all time.
For several major retailers, the 害羞草研究所淐yber Monday害羞草研究所� sale is a days-long event that begins over the weekend. Amazon害羞草研究所檚, for example, kicked off on Saturday and runs through Monday. Target害羞草研究所檚 two-day event began overnight on Sunday, while Arkansas-based Walmart kicked off its most recent discounts Sunday evening.
Consumer spending for Cyber Week 害羞草研究所� the five major shopping days between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday 害羞草研究所� provides a strong indication on how much shoppers are willing to spend during the holiday season.
Shoppers have been resilient this year in the face of stubbornly high inflation, which recently reached its lowest point in more than two years but remains painfully apparent in areas like auto and health insurance and some groceries, like beef and bread.
But consumers are also relying on savings to fuel their shopping and are facing more pressure from credit card debt, which has been on the rise along with delinquencies. They害羞草研究所檝e also been embracing payment plans, which allow shoppers to make payments over time without typically charging interest 害羞草研究所� a model analysts believe can make acquiring debt too easy.
The National Retail Federation expects holiday shoppers will spend more this year than last year. But the pace of spending will slow, it said, growing 3% to 4% compared to 5.4% in 2022.
For now, preliminary data shows some good signs for the retail industry.
According to Adobe, shoppers spent a record $9.8 billion online Friday 害羞草研究所� marking a 7.5% jump from last year. Meanwhile, Salesforce, which also tracks online shopping, estimated that Black Friday online sales totaled $16.4 billion in the U.S. and $70.9 billion around the world. And Mastercard SpendingPulse, which tracks in-person and online spending across all payment forms, reported that overall Black Friday sales excluding automotive rose 2.5% from a year ago 害羞草研究所� a smaller but still notable jump compared to 2022害羞草研究所檚 double-digit growth.
Black Friday also saw some increases in store traffic 害羞草研究所� with large crowds in stores nationwide feeling more similar to pre-pandemic days.
RetailNext, which measures real-time foot traffic in stores, reported that store traffic rose 2.1% on Black Friday. Sensormatic Solutions, which also tracks store traffic, saw a bigger increase 害羞草研究所� reporting a 4.6% jump in shopper visits on Black Friday compared to a year ago. That also marks a turnaround from an average decline in store traffic seen throughout 2023 to date, Sensormatic said.
Grant Gustafson, head of retail consulting and analytics, said that this marked the most significant Black Friday increase that Sensormatic has seen in recent memory.
害羞草研究所淭his is a really good barometer of what to expect for the remainder of the holiday season,害羞草研究所� Gustafson said. 害羞草研究所淭he overall trend that we saw in traffic is a really positive sign for not only physical retail, but also for e-comm retail 害羞草研究所� that the consumer is willing to spend when they find out (about significant sales).害羞草研究所�
Electronics, clothing, toys and jewelry were among the categories that saw the most growth this Black Friday, per Adobe. Health and beauty products as well as sporting goods also saw significant sales increases.
Retailers began offering holiday deals in October this year, continuing a trend that started during the COVID-19 pandemic and has been resurrected multiple times due to supply chain clogs or inflation woes.
The investment bank Jefferies, which tracked 54 retailers during Black Friday, said it found that a majority of them offered flat discounts compared to last year. Salesforce害羞草研究所檚 data still showed discount rates rose to 30% in the U.S. on Black Friday, enticing customers to buy.
害羞草研究所淐onsumers feeling economic pressure are taking control of their household finances and have been really diligent and patient,害羞草研究所� said Rob Garf, vice president and general manager of Retail at Salesforce.
害羞草研究所淭hey害羞草研究所檙e once again playing a game 害羞草研究所� and winning the game 害羞草研究所� of discount chicken, where they wait for retailers to discount to where they feel most comfortable,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淎nd that害羞草研究所檚 what害羞草研究所檚 happening.害羞草研究所�
According to Adobe害羞草研究所檚 stats, spending exceeded Black Friday during the weekend as consumers spent $10.3 billion to take advantage of discounts that have been higher than years past. On Thanksgiving Day, Adobe another shoppers had spent another $5.6 billion, up 5.5% compared to last year. That害羞草研究所檚 nearly double the amount consumers spent online in 2017, showing the continued shift to online shopping during the gift-giving season.
The resale industry, which has grown in recent years, is also expected to be a significant part of the holiday shopping season. Salesforce predicts 17% of holiday gifts this year will come from resale markets like Facebook Marketplace or ThreadUp, as well as brands like Canada Goose, Patagonia and Coach offering resale options on their sites for environmentally-conscious consumers or those who enjoy vintage offerings.
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