Cyber Monday sets new $11.3 billion online spending record

Online shoppers spent more money on Cyber Monday than on any single day – ever.

According to final Adobe Analytics data, consumers spent a total of $11.3 billion on Cyber Monday, Nov. 28, 2022, representing 5.8% growth year-over-year (YoY) from $10.7 billion. This also marked a return to YoY growth in Cyber Monday spending, which slightly dipped between 2020 and 2021.

Cyber Monday remains the biggest online shopping day of the holiday season and year, as well as of all time. In the peak shopping hour of 8 to 9 p.m. PT, Adobe tracked consumer spending of $12.8 million every minute. 

Adobe analysis indicates that Cyber Monday online spending was driven by toys, where online sales grew 684% compared to an average day in October 2022. Other product categories showing sharp single-day e-commerce spikes included sporting goods (up 466%), appliances (up 458%), books (up 439%) jewelry (up 410%), electronics (up 391%) and computers (up 372%).

While Adobe figures are not adjusted for inflation, if online inflation were factored in, the company says there would still be growth in underlying consumer demand. 

Record-breaking Black Friday, Thanksgiving drive strong Cyber Week

Adobe Analytics data also shows that the entire five-day “Cyber Week” period covering Thanksgiving Day to Cyber Monday brought in $35.27 billion overall, up 4% YoY. Cyber Week results were bolstered by record online spending during Black Friday ($9.12 billion, up 2.3% YoY) and Thanksgiving ($5.29 billion, up 2.9% YoY).  

Season-to-date (Nov. 1 to Nov. 28), Adobe Analytics data reveals that consumers have spent $107.7 billion online, up 8.7% YoY. Early discounts have helped produce eight days exceeding $2 billion in daily spend online, with 20 days topping $3 billion. Adobe expects online spending during the full 2022 holiday season (Nov. 1 to Dec. 31) will hit $210.1 billion, growing 2.75% YoY.  

Additional findings include:

• Discounts hit record highs: Discounts were strong across all categories tracked by Adobe, with toys at 34% (vs. 19% in 2021), electronics at 25% (vs. 8%), computers at 20% (vs. 10%), televisions at 17% (vs. 11%), apparel at 18% (vs. 13%), sporting goods at 10% (vs. 6%), furniture at 8% (vs. 2%), and appliances at 16% (vs. 4%).

• Mobile shopping breaks Thanksgiving record: Adobe Analytics data shows that mobile shopping remained strong throughout Cyber Week, driving the majority of sales at 51% for the first time (up from 46% in 2021). Cyber Monday came in at 43% (up from 40%), with Adobe analysis suggesting many online consumers likely shopped from work laptops.

• Buy now, pay later grows: During Cyber Week, buy now, pay later (BNPL) orders rose 85% and revenue increased 88%, when compared to the week prior. 

• Curbside pickup drops: As more shoppers returned to physical stores, usage of curbside pickup remained modest during Cyber Week. The fulfillment method was used in 13% of online orders on both Thanksgiving and Black Friday (for retailers that offer the service), down from 21% in the year prior. On Cyber Monday, curbside pickup was used in 17% of online orders, down from 18% in 2021.

“With oversupply and a softening consumer spending environment, retailers made the right call this season to drive demand through heavy discounting,” said Vivek Pandya, lead analyst, Adobe Digital Insights. “It spurred online spending to levels that were higher than expected, and reinforced e-commerce as a major channel to drive volume and capture consumer interest." 

Adobe analyzes direct consumer transactions online. The analysis covers over 1 trillion visits to U.S. retail sites, 100 million SKUs, and 18 product categories. Adobe Analytics is part of Adobe Experience Cloud.