Consumers took advantage of deep discounts from online retailers to kick off the holiday shopping season in high gear.
According to Adobe Analytics, record online spending on Thanksgiving and Black Friday led Cyber Week (from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday) to $35 billion in total sales.
The numbers were driven by discounts across all categories, with top deals at 34% off the price of toys, 25% off electronics like computers and TVs and 18% off the cost of dress.
“With oversupply and a weakening consumer spending environment, retailers made the right decision this season to drive demand through deep discounts,” Vivek Pandya, principal analyst at Adobe Digital Insights, said in a statement. . “It spurred online spending to higher than expected levels and bolstered e-commerce as an important channel to drive volume and capture consumer interest.”
Top-selling toys included Pokémon cards, Legos, Hot Wheels, Disney’s Encanto brand merchandise, LOL Surprise dolls, Cocomelon and Hatchimals, Adobe Analytics said.
Major game consoles included PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox Series X, while top games included FIFA 23, God of War Ragnarök, Madden 23, NBA 2K23, and Pokémon Scarlet & Violet.
Smart TVs, Apple AirPods and MacBooks, tablets, smartwatches, instant pots and deep fryers were among the best-selling electronics.
E-commerce group Shopify also posted an unprecedented Black Friday-Cyber Monday weekend, with sales of $7.5 billion from independent businesses worldwide, up 19% year-over-year.
Even with inflation looming in the background, consumers were motivated by bargain hunting, Adobe Analytics said. While the company’s figures are not adjusted for inflation, even if online inflation were taken into account, there would still be growth in underlying consumer demand, he said. The story has been the same throughout this year, despite the higher prices. Consumers have shown their willingness to continue shopping, thanks in part to the resilience of their savings in the face of the pandemic.
“There’s certainly recognition and concern about prices and inflation, and yet people continue to spend,” said Matt Shay, president and CEO of the National Retail Federation.
Overall, a record 196.7 million Americans shopped in stores and online during the five-day holiday shopping period from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday, according to an annual survey released Tuesday by the National Federation of of Retailers and Prosper Insights & Analytics.
Messenger Haley contributed.
