US consumers demonstrated resilience in the face of economic challenges, spending a record $12.4 billion on Cyber Monday, indicating the strength of the retail sector despite diminishing pandemic-era savings and rising interest rates, as reported by Bloomberg on Tuesday.
The spending surge of 9.6% year-over-year marked the largest online shopping day in history, according to data from Adobe Inc. The momentum was driven by robust Black Friday sales and the popularity of buy-now-pay-later options, allowing shoppers to extend their budgets with credit.
Despite initial uncertainties at the beginning of the 2023 holiday shopping season, consumers responded positively to discounts, propelling Cyber Week, spanning Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday, to generate a total of $38 billion, a 7.8% increase from the previous year.
Black Friday surpassed projections, reaching $9.8 billion, a 7.5% jump from the previous year. Thanksgiving spending also experienced growth, reaching $5.6 billion, up 5.5%, underscoring the impact of discounts on consumer demand during the holiday season. From November 1 to November 27, online spending amounted to $109.3 billion, reflecting a 7.3% increase from 2022.
The surge in Cyber Monday spending was accompanied by a record high in “buy-now-pay-later usage,” contributing $940 million, a 42.5% increase from the previous year. Consumers embraced these credit facilities for larger purchases, revealing a shift in shopping behavior.
Vivek Pandya, a lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights, emphasized the impact of discounts on consumer demand, stating, “The record online spending across Cyber Week… shows the impact that discounts can have on consumer demand.”
Top-selling items during Cyber Monday included Hot Wheels, the Xbox Series X gaming console, televisions, and small kitchen appliances. These insights were derived from Adobe’s extensive tracking, monitoring over 1 trillion visits to retail websites and analyzing sales of more than 100 million products.
While traditional big sale days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday have seen a decline in exclusivity, they remain crucial for retailers aiming to gauge consumer preferences and strategically offer targeted discounts leading up to Christmas.
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