Salesforce: Cyber Week online spending jumps 9% to $68 billion

A new all-time high in Cyber Monday online sales capped a record-breaking Cyber Week.

According to Salesforce data, online sales across Cyber Week (Thanksgiving Day – Cyber Monday) rose 9% year-over-year to $68 billion in the U.S. and 2% YoY to $281 billion globally, breaking previous records for the five-day period. A record-setting total of $12.2 billion in U.S. online sales (up 8.3%) during Cyber Monday, Nov. 28 helped drive this overall strong Cyber Week performance.

Salesforce analysis shows that average discount rates spiked during Cyber Week, topping pre-pandemic levels at 27% globally and 30% in the U.S. Strong customer response to heavy Cyber Week discounting confirmed previous Salesforce predictions that consumers were delaying holiday purchases in a game of “discount chicken” with online retailers, assuming the best deals would come during Cyber Week.

Globally, Salesforce tracked the product categories with the highest average Cyber Week discounts as:

• General apparel (34%).
• Makeup and skincare (32%).
• Luxury handbags and apparel (26%).

Other interesting Cyber Week findings from Salesforce include:

• The majority (76%) of Cyber Week e-commerce traffic came through mobile devices, with social media referring nearly 10% – a 22% increase YoY and the highest referral percentage ever seen during the holiday season based on Salesforce data.
• Buy online, pickup in-store (BOPIS) usage grew 9% globally Thursday through Sunday of Cyber Week compared to the first three weeks of November. Retailers in the U.S. that had BOPIS grew online revenue by 38% more than those without this fulfillment option throughout Cyber Week.
• There was a 5% YoY increase in U.S. buy now, pay later (BNPL) orders during Cyber Week. However, the average order value for U.S. BNPL transactions across Cyber Week decreased 5%, which Salesforce says indicates shoppers financed lower-priced goods compared to 2021.
• Chatbot messages globally increased 57% on Black Friday and 53% on Cyber Monday, compared to the same days in 2021.

"After lackluster discounts earlier in the season, retailers stepped up their game throughout Cyber Week, and shoppers answered in kind. Our data shows an incredibly strong correlation between discount rates and digital sales as consumers held out for the biggest and best deals," said Rob Garf, Salesforce VP and GM, Retail. "As we enter the home stretch of the holiday season, retailers must preserve margins by emphasizing automation to balance operational efficiency and customer loyalty. We anticipate that the retailers who lean into store fulfillment, personalize service, and streamline returns will be winners and find more success now.”

Numerator: Black Friday most popular online shopping day

Analysis from Numerator indicates that Black Friday had the largest number of consumers shopping online out of all five Cyber Week days:

• Among those consumers who shopped over Cyber Weekend, 88% said they shopped on Black Friday (up from 81% who said the same in 2021), followed by Cyber Monday (50%) and the Saturday after Thanksgiving (45%). 
• Nearly half (44%) of Black Friday shoppers spent more than $100, with 22% spending more than $200. 
• Black Friday buyers shopped multiple times throughout the day, with 60% making two or more purchases and 15% making five or more purchases.
• The average Black Friday order contained 4.9 items, with an average price per item of $25.96.