Cyber Week Online Spending Down 1.4% to $33.9 Billion

Cyber Week E-commerce Sales Experience a Modest Decrease

A heightened level of consumer consciousness regarding supply chain disruptions, coupled with the availability of earlier promotional offers, potentially contributed to a slight reduction in U.S. e-commerce sales during Cyber Week. This crucial period, encompassing Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday, traditionally marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season.

Last year witnessed a record expenditure of $34.4 billion by U.S. consumers throughout Cyber Week, representing a 20.7% increase compared to the preceding year. However, this year, the total online spending decreased by 1.4% to $33.9 billion, as indicated by data derived from Adobe’s Digital Economy Index.

Data Source and Scope

Adobe’s analysis is based on data collected from over one trillion visits to U.S. e-commerce websites. This extensive dataset includes 100 million distinct SKUs across 18 different product categories, providing a thorough overview of prevailing holiday shopping trends.

The observed declines became apparent starting on Black Friday this year. Online Black Friday sales reached $8.9 billion, a 1.3% decrease from last year’s record of $9.03 billion. This marks the first instance of a year-over-year decline for this key shopping day.

Cyber Monday and Thanksgiving Day Performance

Cyber Monday 2021 also experienced a 1.4% year-over-year drop in sales, totaling $10.7 billion. This figure was just $100 million less than the $10.8 billion spent during the same period last year. Conversely, Thanksgiving Day online sales remained stable at $5.1 billion.

These relatively minor declines signify a departure from the customary pattern of increasing holiday shopping sales each year. Considering the pandemic-driven acceleration of the industry reported last year, this shift is a noteworthy indication of how enduring pandemic-related factors—specifically supply chain shortages—may be influencing consumer behavior.

Shift to Earlier Shopping

Consumers, anticipating potential shortages, may have initiated their shopping earlier in the year, according to Adobe. This is supported by the data, which reveals a substantial increase in spending during November (November 1st to November 29th).

Total consumer spending for November reached $109.8 billion, a significant 11.9% increase over the previous year. Notably, 22 days of the month exceeded $3 billion in online sales, a new record, compared to only 9 days in 2020.

Expert Commentary

“Early deals in October meant consumers weren’t waiting for discounts on major shopping days like Cyber Monday and Black Friday,” explained Taylor Schreiner, Director at Adobe Digital Insights. “This trend was further amplified by growing awareness of supply chain issues and product availability.”

Schreiner continued, “This resulted in a more distributed pattern of e-commerce spending throughout October and November, positioning us for a season that will still achieve record online shopping figures.”

Overall Sales Outlook

In essence, while overall sales may not decrease in 2021, their concentration will be different than in previous years. The pandemic may have established online shopping as a regular habit, leading consumers to integrate their holiday purchases with their routine activities, rather than solely relying on Black Friday or Cyber Monday sales events.

Popular Product Categories

Despite the declines, the peak holiday shopping period exhibited familiar patterns. Cyber Monday shoppers favored typical categories, with sales increases compared to September 2021 including: toys (nearly 11x), gift cards (7x), books (7x), video games (6x), and baby/toddler products (6x).

Appliance sales, including microwave ovens and small kitchen appliances, also saw significant growth, increasing by 9.6x and 7.1x respectively, contributing to an overall category increase of 5.6x.

Smartphone Sales Trends

Smartphone-driven sales experienced an increase this year, with Cyber Monday sales up 8.4% year-over-year. However, this represents a shift from pre-pandemic expectations, where smartphone sales were projected to exceed 50% of total online sales.

Adobe suggests that consumers working from home may have reduced their reliance on smartphone shopping.

Holiday Season Forecast

Despite the altered shopping patterns, Adobe anticipates that the overall holiday season will achieve a new record. The forecast predicts a 10% year-over-year growth in sales, reaching $207 billion from November 1st through December 31st.