Cyber Monday 2023: Online Sales Hit $10.8 Billion - Record Total

Cyber Monday, traditionally the year’s largest online shopping day, mirrored the trends seen after Thanksgiving and Black Friday: substantial increases compared to 2019, though falling somewhat short of initial forecasts. With the absence of typical in-store crowds due to social distancing guidelines, and many individuals experiencing economic challenges from the ongoing health crisis, this year’s holiday shopping season has been positive, albeit more restrained.

Data from Adobe analytics indicates that “Cyber Monday” generated $10.8 billion in online sales within the United States. This figure landed on the lower side of the projected range, which extended from $10.8 billion to $12.7 billion. The analysis also revealed that smartphones were responsible for 37% of all purchases.

For several years, Monday has consistently been the most significant online shopping day within the four-day period beginning with Thanksgiving. While the reported numbers are below the most optimistic predictions, they represent a 15.1% increase over last year’s Cyber Monday total of $9.4 billion. Furthermore, these results propelled online retailers past the $100 billion mark for the season, reaching $106.5 billion in sales to date – a 27.7% rise compared to the same timeframe in 2019, according to Adobe.

Adobe’s data shows that Black Friday sales reached $9 billion and Thanksgiving sales totaled $5.1 billion this year.

Salesforce, however, presented a more upbeat assessment, reporting $12.8 billion in digital revenue on Black Friday, with worldwide figures totaling $62 billion. They estimated Thanksgiving online sales in the U.S. at approximately $6.8 billion, with a global figure around $30.4 billion.

Adobe identified the peak retail hours of the day, between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m., as generating $2.7 billion in sales, representing 25% of the day’s overall sales. Interestingly, this was slightly less than originally anticipated (they had predicted it would account for 29% of all sales). During its busiest hour, from 8 to 9 p.m. Pacific time, consumers were spending $12 million per minute.

Salesforce, in contrast, estimated sales during this period at $11.8 billion. Globally, Salesforce projects a figure of $46 billion, with the total for “Cyber Week” – beginning today – expected to reach $60 billion (as sales continue to unfold).

The proportion of sales originating from smartphones, around 40% according to Adobe, has remained relatively consistent throughout the week. Shopify, which primarily serves smaller merchants, has reported a higher figure, closer to 70%.

“Cyber Monday continued its dominance of the holiday shopping season, becoming the largest online shopping day in U.S. history, despite the early discounts offered by retailers,” states Taylor Schreiner, director of Adobe Digital Insights. “We anticipate record sales to continue throughout the remainder of the holiday season, with curbside pickup gaining further traction as shoppers seek to avoid crowds and potential shipping delays.”

(The differences in figures between the two companies stem from their methodologies. Adobe’s data is based on analysis of 80 of the top 100 U.S. retailers, encompassing approximately 1 trillion transactions. Salesforce utilizes data from its Commerce Cloud, covering billions of interactions and millions of social media conversations, combined with additional analytics from its Shopping Index.)

Both companies agree that Cyber Monday remains the biggest shopping day of the year. This is due to a confluence of factors: the peak of holiday sales combined with the fact that many people are back at work and therefore shop online instead of in stores, resulting in substantial sales volumes.

Similar to other days of the long weekend, sales are beginning earlier each year, but Adobe notes that many consumers still believe the most significant discounts are offered on this specific day. Popular shopping categories included computers (with an average discount of 30%), toys (20% off), appliances (21%), and electronics (26%).

Larger businesses continue to capture the majority of online sales, largely because they offer the most comprehensive range of delivery, pickup, and return options – features that are increasingly important to consumers, particularly those who are less experienced with online shopping. Conversion rates for large retailers (with over $1 billion in annual revenue) are typically 70% higher than those for smaller businesses.

However, small businesses have been working to close the gap, aided by startups and companies like Shopify that provide tools to help them replicate the fulfillment, delivery, and other capabilities of larger companies. Adobe reported that Small Business Saturday, the newest of the Thanksgiving shopping holidays, saw $4.7 billion in sales, a record for the day and a 30.2% increase over 2019. Furthermore, Adobe indicated that online revenue for small businesses this year was a remarkable 294% higher than on an average day in October.