This year’s Cyber Monday set a new record for online shopping in the U.S. Customers spending a whopping $10.8 billion, making it the largest online shopping day in the nation’s history, according to data from Adobe Analytics.
The spending marked an increase of 15.1% on last year’s Cyber Monday, and follows a record-breaking Black Friday three days earlier that saw shoppers fork out a total of $9 billion via online purchases, an increase of 21.6% on a year earlier.
The uptick in online shopping was partly put down part to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that saw customers stay home rather than risk infection by venturing out to crowded malls, though popping out for curbside pickup also proved popular, with the collection method seeing year-on-year growth of 30%.
Cyber Monday’s most popular discounted items in the technology category included Apple AirPods, Apple Watches, HP and Dell computers, and Chromecast devices, according to Adobe’s findings. If you’re quick and still on the lookout for some cut-price AirPods, some deals may still be available.
Online sales peaked between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. PT when web-based orders across the U.S. reached a staggering $12 million per minute.
Based on online shopping behaviors over the holiday weekend (Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday), Adobe forecasts that U.S. online holiday sales will reach a total of $184 billion (30% up on a year ago).
Commenting on the data, Taylor Schreiner, director of Adobe Digital Insights, said: “Cyber Monday continued to dominate the holiday shopping season, becoming the biggest online shopping day in U.S. history, despite early discounts from retailers.”
Schreiner added: “Throughout the remainder of the holiday season, we expect to see record sales continue and curbside pickup to gain even more momentum as shoppers avoid crowds and potential shipping delays.”
Adobe arrived at its findings after analyzing one trillion visits to U.S. retail sites, 100 million stock-keeping units, and 80 of the 100 largest retailers in the U.S.
If you’re still on the hunt for a bargain or two, be sure to check out Digital Trends’ homepage for details of any post-Cyber Monday shopping deals dropping between now and the end of the year.
