Shoppers trying to capitalize on Cyber Monday discounts spent a record $14.25 billion online, with consumers shelling out as much as $16 million every minute toward the end of the day, according to data from Adobe.
The figures represent a 7.1% increase from last year and slightly exceed Adobe’s earlier projection of $14.2 billion. The results also reinforce Cyber Monday’s position as one of the biggest online shopping days of all time.
This year, the boost was driven by “competitive discounts” in categories such as electronics, which were marked down by up to 31%, toys by up to 28%, and apparel by up to 25%.
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Computers, televisions and furniture saw discounts of 23%, 22% and 19%, respectively. Appliances and sporting goods were also heavily marked down, with discounts of 19% and 17%.
“U.S. retailers leaned heavily on discounts this holiday season to drive online demand. Competitive and persistent deals throughout Cyber Week pushed consumers to shop earlier, creating an environment where Black Friday now challenges the dominance of Cyber Monday,” Adobe Digital Insights lead analyst Vivek Pandya said.
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Adobe projected that deals will fall from their Cyber Monday peaks but still linger through the first week of the month as retailers try and capture more sales from budget-conscious consumers. Toys will continue to see discounts up to 23% off the listed price. Meanwhile, computers, electronics and apparel will see discounts of 20%, 19% and 18%, respectively.
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Between Nov. 1 and Dec. 1, consumers spent a total of $137.4 billion online, a 7.2% increase from a year ago. Spending during the five-day stretch from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday reached $44.2 billion, up 7.7% year over year. The surge was driven in part by record online spending on Black Friday, which totaled $11.8 billion as consumers took advantage of a wave of early online deals.
Still, consumers are feeling the strain of the economy, as shown by the continued rise in buy now, pay later platforms. Usage of the flexible payment method, which helps consumers stretch their budgets, hit an all-time high on Cyber Monday. It drove $1.03 billion in online spending, up 4.2% year over year.
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