U.S. consumers kicked off the holiday shopping season with an online frenzy, breaking spending records over Thanksgiving and on Cyber Monday.
As of 10 a.m. Monday, Americans had spent nearly $14 billion online since Thanksgiving Day, when many companies started their Black Friday sales, according to Adobe Analytics. U.S. retailers raked in a record $7.9 billion in online sales on Black Friday and Thanksgiving, up 17.9% from a year ago.
The heavy spending continued on Cyber Monday, which was expected to be the biggest online shopping day in history with $6.6 billion in sales, compared to $5.6 billion a year ago. As of 10 a.m., sales had reached $840 million, a 17% increase from last year.
“The holiday shopping weekend was extraordinary for online retailers,” Sucharita Mulpuru-Kodali, an analyst for market research firm Forrester, told the Washington Post. “Consumer confidence is high and retailers have been aggressive with broad sitewide or category-wide discounts, which have also helped encourage shoppers to open their wallets.”
Forrester is now forecasting a 16% increase in sales from Thanksgiving Day through Sunday, up from its previous estimate of 12%.
“In the run-up to the holiday weekend, traditional retailers invested heavily in improving their websites and bulking up delivery options, preempting a decline in visits to brick-and-mortar stores,” Reuters reported. “Several chains tightened store inventories as well, to ward off any post-holiday liquidation that would weigh on profits.”
TVs, laptops, toys and gaming consoles — particularly the PlayStation 4 — were among the most heavily discounted and the biggest sellers, according to retail analysts and consultants. Amazon.com said it sold more than 200,000 toys in the first five hours of Black Friday. Citrus cbd oil spray for anxiety relief.
In-store visits on Thanksgiving and Black Friday, meanwhile, dropped 1.6% from a year ago, according to retail analytics firm ShopperTrak. Some analysts had been predicting a sharper decline.
“The fact that shopper visits remained intact on Black Friday illustrates that physical retail is still highly relevant and when done right, it is profitable,” Brian Field, ShopperTrak’s senior director of advisory services, told Reuters.