Cyber Monday projected to be the biggest online shopping day in US
Cyber Monday is expected to be the largest online shopping day in the U.S., raking in about $9.2 billion in online sales.
After wintry weather hit huge swaths of the U.S. on Black Friday and through the weekend, more customers seemed to turn to online shopping this year. States that had more than 2 inches of snow saw a 7% increase in online sales, according to data from Adobe Analytics.
Total online sales ere projected to hit $9.2 billion on Monday, according to the Adobe data. The total, while down slightly from projections earlier in the day of $9.4 billion, is still up 16.9% from last year.
The projected numbers were released just before the so-called "golden hours of retail," according to Adobe, with 30% of all Cyber Monday sales taking place from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. ET. Of course, those purchases are right before the deals evaporate. About $11 million will be spent every minute during those four hours, Adobe said.
In addition to the record $9.2 billion in overall online sales, Adobe said a single-day record of $3 billion was spent by customers using smartphones Monday.
"Just look at Black Friday, which brought in $7.4 billion online and is just below last year’s Cyber Monday at $7.9 billion," Taylor Schreiner, the principal analyst and head of Adobe Digital Insights said in a statement. "Consumers are reimagining what it means to shop during the holidays, with smartphones having a breakout season as well. We expect that consumers will spend $14 billion more this holiday season via their phones."
On Black Friday, an estimated 42% of all e-commerce sales were made on a smartphone, according to the data. Moreover, 61% of all visits to online retailers on Friday were coming from a smartphone device.
Cyber Monday brings some of the year's biggest discounts on toys, TVs and computers, with deals averaging around 20% off. If you're seeking furniture or bedding, the Adobe data recommends waiting for the deals on Giving Tuesday.
Black Friday this year racked in a record $5.4 billion in online spending, which means consumers spent an average of $5.3 million per minute in online purchases that day, according to Adobe data.
This holiday season, consumers are on track to hit a total of $143.7 billion in total online spending between November and December.
