Cyber Monday E-Commerce Sales Reach Record $10.8B

Holiday shoppers went online Monday and spent $10.8 billion, setting a record for the largest U.S. online shopping day ever, reports CNBC. According to Adobe Analytics data, Cyber Monday spending rose 15.1 percent year-over-year, however, this year's spend came in short of Adobe’s forecast of $12.7 billion. Adobe data also revealed that curbside pickup increased 30 percent from last year; 37 percent of e-commerce sales were made on mobile devices; and 25 percent of the day’s revenue, or $2.7 billion, was spent during the final hours of Cyber Monday, from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Pacific time.

Total Retail's Take: The role of shopping holidays such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday are shifting this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Consumers started holiday shopping earlier than in previous years, with retailers spreading out deals throughout Q4 to avoid crowded stores, as well as to coincide with Amazon Prime Day. On Black Friday, a day typically centered around shopping in stores and malls, consumers opted for the safety (and convenience) of shopping online rather than venturing out to stores. With this shift in consumer behavior and such an extended holiday shopping period, it's difficult to gauge what this past weekend will mean for the remainder of the holiday season.

Retailers are still seeing a rise in sales, though not at the level many industry analysts had forecast. Adobe cut its online sales forecast for the entire holiday season to $184 billion, which is still a 30 percent YoY increase. The 2020 holiday shopping season figures to be a mixed bag of successes and difficulties, as retailers navigate shipping delays, pandemic store regulations, above average e-commerce demand, and more. However, retailers can take some solace in these early holiday numbers, which show sales tracking in a positive direction for the season — at least online.