Cyber Monday Sales Top $14B, Beating Projections

U.S. consumers spent a total of $14.25 billion online for Cyber Monday, up 7.1 percent year-over-year (YoY), and above Adobe’s initial projection of $14.2 billion (up 6.3 percent YoY). In the peak hours of 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., consumers spent $16 million every minute. Cyber Monday ranks as the biggest online shopping day of all time, as shoppers took advantage of competitive discounts in categories such as electronics (peaking at 31 percent off listed price), toys (28 percent), apparel (25 percent), computers (23 percent), television (22 percent), furniture (19 percent), appliances (19 percent), and sporting goods (17 percent).

Cyber Week (the five-day period from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday) brought in $44.2 billion online overall (up 7.7 percent YoY), bolstered by record spend online during Black Friday ($11.8 billion, up 9.1 percent YoY). This is now the second holiday season in a row where Black Friday growth outpaced Cyber Monday (2024: Cyber Monday up 7.3 percent YoY, Black Friday up 10.2 percent YoY), as shoppers embraced early, competitive deals.

Mobile was cemented as consumers' preferred transaction channel with 57.5 percent of online sales made via a mobile device on Cyber Monday (vs. desktop), representing $8.2 billion in spend (up 8 percent YoY). Related, social media was the most influential marketing channel with its share of revenue coming in at 3.6 percent on Cyber Monday, up a significant 56.5 percent YoY.

Generative artificial intelligence-powered chat services and browsers are also making their mark on the holiday season, with AI traffic to U.S. retail sites (measured by shoppers clicking on a link) increasing by a staggering 670 percent on Cyber Monday alone. In the season so far (Nov. 1 to Dec. 1), AI traffic is up 760 percent. While the base of users remains modest, the uptick shows the value AI can deliver as a shopping assistant.

After a strong Cyber Week showing, Adobe expects the full 2025 holiday season (Nov. 1 to Dec. 31) to hit $253.4 billion online, up 5.3 percent YoY.

Total Retail's Take: Cyber Monday proved yet again to be a banner shopping holiday not only in the U.S. but across the globe. Global online sales reached $53 billion (up 7 percent YoY) and grew to $336.6 billion (up 7 percent YoY) across Cyber Week, according to Salesforce. This data reinforces the growing consumer preference to grab holiday deals from home, especially when retailers are offering the same discounts both online and in-store. Salesforce Director of Consumer Insights Caila Schwartz says, "Cyber Week 2025 delivered on its promise as a definitive record-setter, underscoring the sustained global shift to digital commerce."

The data also reflects noteworthy growth in several key areas: mobile, social media, buy now pay later (BNPL), and AI shopping agents. Unsurprisingly, mobile shopping continues to grow each year as well as social media's power to drive purchases as consumers scroll through deals and advertisements from their devices. BNPL transactions hit an all-time high of $1.03 billion in online spend (up 4.2 percent YoY) on Cyber Monday. The impact of AI and agentic agents acting as shopping assistants for consumers is becoming clear. Across the entire Cyber Week, AI agents influenced 20 percent of all orders, accounting for $67 billion in global sales.

"Shoppers have also become increasingly savvy in finding the best deals and locating the right products, embracing generative AI-powered chat services and browser tools for the second season in a row," said Vivek Pandya, lead analyst, Adobe Digital Insights.

Discounts are still extremely important to shoppers, and U.S. retailers leaned in heavily this holiday season to drive online demand, continued Pandya. "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."