Cyber Monday E-Commerce Sales Drop 1.4% YoY

Consumers spent a total of $10.7 billion on Cyber Monday, which is down 1.4 percent year-over-year (YoY), according to data from the Adobe Digital Economy Index. Although it's about $100 million shy of what shoppers spent last year ($10.8 billion), it still remains the biggest online shopping day of 2021. Cyber Week (Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday) has now driven a total of $33.9 billion in online spend, down 1.4 percent YoY, as Black Friday dipped 1.3 percent YoY at $8.9 billion vs $9 billion (2020) and Thanksgiving Day stayed flat at $5.1 billion. However, the positive news for online sellers is that consumer spending is just being pushed earlier into the holiday season, driven by supply chain concerns and earlier-than-normal holiday deals and discounts. So far this holiday season (Nov. 1 to Nov. 29), consumers have spent $109.8 billion online, growing significantly at 11.9 percent over last year.

Total Retail's Take: The takeaway from these numbers is that consumers are no longer waiting until the traditional kickoff of the holiday shopping season, Black Friday, to start their gift buying. There are a couple of factors driving this shift: one, consumers are more comfortable and confident shopping online for their holiday purchases, and less likely to want to shop in-store in the midst of a pandemic. Two, consumers have been hearing about supply chain disruptions for some time now, and they got the message to shop earlier this year. Lastly, retailers and brands are no longer waiting till Black Friday to roll out their best deals of the season. Many start with holiday offers and campaigns as soon as the calendar turns to November.

“With early deals in October, consumers weren't waiting around for discounts on big shopping days like Cyber Monday and Black Friday,” noted Taylor Schreiner, Director, Adobe Digital Insights, in a statement emailed to Total Retail. “This was further fueled by growing awareness of supply chain challenges and product availability. It spread out e-commerce spending across the months of October and November, putting us on track for a season that still will break online shopping records.”