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Cyber Monday sales dip for first time on record to only $10.7B, offset by early sales, analysts say

Online shoppers spent only $10.7 billion on Cyber Monday in 2021, missing the upper range of industry projections by roughly 5.3% and logging the first recorded year-over-year decrease in spending since analysts began tracking the post-Thanksgiving sales event nine years ago.

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According to data released Tuesday by Adobe Analytics, Monday’s showing fell 1.4% below year-ago spending of more than $10.8 billion, CNBC reported.

The Orem, Utah-based online marketing and web analytics firm analyzes more than 1 trillion visits to retailers’ websites to compile its annual Cyber Monday data and first began reporting on e-commerce in 2012, the network reported.

Despite the slight 2021 decrease, Monday’s sales figures aligned with Adobe’s initial projection that consumers would spend between $10.2 billion and $11.3 billion during the one-day sales blitz, Fox Business reported, offering the following snapshot:

  • Shoppers spent $12 million each minute during Cyber Monday’s peak shopping hour from 11 p.m. to midnight EST.
  • 2021 discounts were weaker than those offered in 2020, with 12% discount levels for electronics alone reaching less than half of the 27% offered one year ago.
  • Cyber Week, which spans Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday, drove $33.9 billion in online sales, also representing a 1.4% decrease compared with year-ago figures.
  • The $8.9 billion in online Black Friday sales represented a 1.3% decrease compared with 2020, while Thanksgiving Day e-commerce orders remained flat at $5.1 billion.

Despite the documented slowdown, Adobe expects the complete 2021 holiday shopping season to break e-commerce records, with total digital sales from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31 projected to hit $207 billion, representing record gains of 10%, CNBC reported.

According to Adobe, U.S. online shoppers have already spent $109.8 billion since Nov. 1, or nearly 12% above 2020 levels for the same period.

“With early deals in October, consumers were not waiting around for discounts on big shopping days like Cyber Monday and Black Friday,” said Taylor Schreiner, director at Adobe Digital Insights.

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