U.S. holiday shoppers spent more than ever over the five-day period that began on Thanksgiving, racking up $11.3 billion alone in online purchases Cyber Monday, the busiest online shopping day of the year.
According to Adobe Analytics’ Online Shopping Report, Cyber Monday sales were 5.4% higher than in 2021, though it is unclear whether consumers are buying more this year or are spending more for less due to record inflation. Black Friday online sales totaled $9.12 billion, a 2.5% increase from last year.
On Thanksgiving, online sales hit $5.3 million Thursday, and the combined spending for Saturday and Sunday was $9.56 billion bringing total online spending for the five-day period to $35.28 billion.
Some of the “hot products” in shoppers’ online carts during the period from Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday included Nintendo Switch, the XBOX and PlayStation 5 gaming consoles, Hot Wheels toys and smart watches, Adobe said.
Brick-and-mortar stores saw a 17% increase in shoppers, with over 122.7 million people opting for an in-person retail experience over the long weekend, according to the National Association of Retail Merchants (NARM). Black Friday remains the most popular day for in-store shopping.
Even so, more shoppers opted to purchase online than inside stores on Black Friday. NARM reported that 87.2 million people shopped online on Black Friday compared to 72.9 million who shopped at a brick-and-mortar retailer.
The Saturday after Thanksgiving was also a popular day for in-store shopping. There were 63.4 million in-store shoppers on Saturday, and 77% of them indicated they were there to support local retailers specifically as part of Small Business Saturday. In 2021, there were 51 million in-store shoppers for Small Business Saturday, NARM said.
An online survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics for NARM found that consumers spent an average of $325 on holiday-related purchases over the course of the weekend, up from $301 in 2021. Of that amount, most ($229) was directed specifically toward gifts.
Early deals and sales did entice some consumers to shop before mid-November, even though they will save the bulk of their shopping for later, the survey found. More than half (56%) of shoppers said they took advantage of early holiday sales or promotions before Thanksgiving this year; 24% did so before Nov. 16, and 36% shopped in the week leading up to Thanksgiving (Nov. 16-23).
“While Thanksgiving is no longer the starting point for holiday shopping, the five-day shopping period still plays an important role in the overall holiday season,” said Phil Rist, Prosper’s executive vice president for strategy. “On average, consumers say they are almost halfway (47%) done with their holiday shopping at this point in time, leaving plenty of room for additional purchases in the remaining weeks of the year.”
