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 B次元官网网址� a term coined back in 2005 by the National Retail Federation B次元官网网址� 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 betweenB次元官网网址�$12.0 billion and $12.4 billion on Monday, making it the biggest online shopping day of all time.
For several major retailers, the B次元官网网址淐yber MondayB次元官网网址� sale is a days-long event that begins over the weekend. AmazonB次元官网网址檚, for example, kicked off on Saturday and runs through Monday. TargetB次元官网网址檚 two-day event began overnight on Sunday, while Arkansas-based Walmart kicked off its most recent discounts Sunday evening.
Consumer spending for Cyber Week B次元官网网址� the five major shopping days between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday B次元官网网址� 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. TheyB次元官网网址檝e also been embracing payment plans, which allow shoppers to make payments over time without typically charging interest B次元官网网址� 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 B次元官网网址� 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 B次元官网网址� a smaller but still notable jump compared to 2022B次元官网网址檚 double-digit growth.
Black Friday also saw some increases in store traffic B次元官网网址� 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 B次元官网网址� 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.
B次元官网网址淭his is a really good barometer of what to expect for the remainder of the holiday season,B次元官网网址� Gustafson said. B次元官网网址淭he overall trend that we saw in traffic is a really positive sign for not only physical retail, but also for e-comm retail B次元官网网址� that the consumer is willing to spend when they find out (about significant sales).B次元官网网址�
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. SalesforceB次元官网网址檚 data still showed discount rates rose to 30% in the U.S. on Black Friday, enticing customers to buy.
B次元官网网址淐onsumers feeling economic pressure are taking control of their household finances and have been really diligent and patient,B次元官网网址� said Rob Garf, vice president and general manager of Retail at Salesforce.
B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e once again playing a game B次元官网网址� and winning the game B次元官网网址� of discount chicken, where they wait for retailers to discount to where they feel most comfortable,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淎nd thatB次元官网网址檚 whatB次元官网网址檚 happening.B次元官网网址�
According to AdobeB次元官网网址檚 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. ThatB次元官网网址檚 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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