Cyber Monday smashes records yet again as holiday shoppers snap up fashion deals

Holiday shoppers spent a record $12.4 billion on Cyber Monday, representing a 9.6% increase over 2022, according to Adobe Analytics.

Cyber Monday was not only the biggest shopping day of the year thus far, but it was also the biggest online shopping day of all time. During the day’s peak hour of 10 to 11 a.m. ET, customers spent an astounding $15.7 million every minute.

What were people buying? The big winner this year was, surprisingly, apparel, with online sales growing 189% over a typical shopping day in October. Appliance sales were up 166%, toys 140%, furniture 129%, and electronics up 103%.

Big sellers this Cyber Monday include toys such as Legos, Disney Junior Minnie Mouse toys and play sets, Disney Pixar Cars toys, and Hot Wheels. Shoppers were also on the hunt for gaming consoles, with the Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch all seeing big sales numbers, along with such games as Spiderman 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, NBA 2k24, and Super Mario Bros. Wonder.

Other big sellers this Cyber Monday included smart watches, activity trackers, TVs, small kitchen appliances, skincare sets, and Bluetooth headphones.

While shopping was up, shoppers were also looking for ways to make their budget go further with Buy Now, Pay Later plans. Usage of the payment plan services Klarna and Afterpay hit an all-time high on Cyber Monday, contributing to $940 million in sales, an increase of 42.5% over last year.

Cyber Monday followed a strong week of holiday sales. Cyber Week, the five days between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, brought in a whopping $38 billion, an increase of 7.8% from last year. That increase was thanks to record spending across the board: Thanksgiving sales hit $5.6 billion, up 5.5% year over year (YoY); Black Friday sales were at $9.8 billion, up 7.5% YoY; and over-the-weekend sales topped $10.3 billion, up 7.7% YoY.

“The 2023 holiday shopping season began with a lot of uncertainty, as consumers shifted their spending to services while dealing with rising costs across different facets of their lives,” Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights, said in a statement. “The record online spending across Cyber Week, however, shows the impact that discounts can have on consumer demand, especially with quality products that drove a lot of impulse shopping.”

Beyond being just a record year for spending, it was also a record year for discounts. Cyber Monday electronics peaked at 31% off their listed price, versus just 25% off their listed price in 2022. Computers saw a 24% discount, televisions 19%, and apparel 23%, all steeper cuts than the top discounts last year.

Customers also reached for their phones to shop more than ever. More than half, or 59% of online sales on Thanksgiving came from smartphones, up from 55% in 2022. Overall, smartphones were responsible for 51.8% of online sales, up from 49.9% in 2022.

And all that holiday shopping isn’t over yet. Many stores have opted to extend their Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales into the week. Adobe also predicts that we’ll see good deals in appliances, toys, computers, apparel, and furniture continue into the shopping season. It also notes that next Monday, December 4, will be the best day to shop for sporting goods, when discounts are expected to peak at 21% off their listed price.