This time of year can be the most stressful and the most rewarding depending on the scale of the sale your business is planning on making. Though some opt out of this season of “sale-ing,” the benefits of Black Friday and Cyber Monday give consumers a reason to hold out and shop for items they may not purchase otherwise, while still giving businesses enough sales to turn a profit.
Here, we will discuss some of the current stats that have shattered records over the past weekend from Black Friday through to Cyber Monday, and why this time of year is the most important time to win over consumers.
According to Adobe, within the five-day stretch between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, there was a total consumer spending of $41.1 billion in online overall sales, up 8.2% YoY. Consumers spent a total of $13.3 billion on Cyber Monday alone, up 7.3% YoY, and surpassing Adobe’s initial projection of $13.2 billion. In the peak hours of 8 pm to 10 pm, consumers spent $15.8 million every minute.
Addition insights directly from Adobe include:
- Mobile Shopping Dominates: On Cyber Monday, 57% of online sales came through a mobile device, representing $7.6 billion in spend (up 13.3% YoY). Mobile shopping has ramped up considerably in recent years, as consumers become comfortable transacting on smaller screens. In the 2019 holiday season, just 33% of Cyber Monday online sales came through a mobile device.
- Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) Hits Milestone: BNPL usage hit an all-time high on Cyber Monday, driving $991.2 million in spend (up 5.5% YoY), as consumers looked for greater flexibility in managing their holiday budgets. The vast majority of BNPL transactions are happening on a mobile device, at 75.2% share on Cyber Monday.
- Shoppers Embrace Generative AI: Chatbots, powered by generative AI, have made a mark on the holiday season. On Cyber Monday, traffic to retail sites from chatbots (shoppers clicking on a link to a retail site) increased by 1,950% compared to the year prior. While the base of users remains modest, the uptick shows the value chatbots are playing as a shopping assistant for consumers to find deals or to quickly locate products.
- Social Influencers Rise in Prominence: Adobe tracks how many marketing channels are driving consumers to shop on U.S. retail sites. In ‘affiliates and partners’, which includes social media influencers, the share of revenue came in at 20.3% on Cyber Monday, up an impressive 6.8% YoY. Adobe’s data also showed that influencers are converting shoppers (individuals purchasing after seeing influencer content) 6 times more than social media overall.
Overall, these statistics show the importance of the end-of-year season and how specific sales/marketing tactics can influence consumers to buy. Though this is now just food for thought as the holiday season treks onward, it is something to consider as the year is coming to an end and preparing for 2025.
