Cyber Monday is the online sales equivalent of Black Friday with numerous companies offering early deals or random special prices throughout the day. You are bound to find at least a handful of sale items at any major retailer’s online store.
Last 5 Year Spend by Country
| Year | US | UK |
| 2016 | $3.7 billion | £1.1 billion |
| 2017 | $4.7 billion | £1.1 billion |
| 2018 | $6 billion | £3 billion |
| 2019 | $9.4 billion | £1.4 billion |
| 2020 | $10.8 billion | £1.2 billion |
Is Cyber Monday One of the Biggest Shopping Days?
Black Friday and Cyber Monday purchases have been almost identical for the past few years due to the popularization of online shopping.
While the two events of the holiday shopping season are the biggest and most lucrative days for retail throughout the year, Cyber Monday is poised to take the lead with an increase in online sales every year as more and more buyers enjoy online sales.
Still, the pandemic changed the purchasing power of many, and the online spending numbers were somewhat different last year. In 2020, sales in brick-and-mortar stores in the U.S. were down 23.9% during the Black Friday/Cyber Monday shopping holiday.
Even though the sales hit a record of $10.8 billion in the U.S. in 2020, in the U.K. they fell nearly 10% compared to the year prior, so Cyber Monday has solidified itself as the biggest online shopping day in the U.S., but we can’t say the same for the UK.
However, UK customers are the most aware of Cyber Monday in all of Europe. So let’s see some of the Cyber Monday spending statistics in both countries.
What Are Buyers Purchasing the Most on Cyber Monday?
Many Cyber Monday buyers purchase items similar to what they would shop for in online sales for Black Friday. Since online retailers offer excellent prices on electronics, some of the highest categories of purchases are 4k monitors and home theater projectors, video games, clothing and accessories like wireless keyboards, home appliances, and blogging cameras and photography equipment.
The top three categories to shop on Cyber Monday online sales in the U.S. in 2020 were:
Electronics
- TVs
- Video game consoles
- Computers
- Smartphones
Small Appliances
- Coffeemakers
- Air fryers
- Mixers
- Blenders
Clothing
- Jeans
- Boots, according to CNBC’s article.
In the UK, the top three category share winners of Cyber Week 2020 were:
- Sporting goods
- Apparel
- Automotive, according to BigCommerce.
Who Is Most Likely to Purchase on Cyber Monday?
Demographics of those who shop on Cyber Monday are similar to the demographics of those who perform their shopping on Black Friday.
Millennials were the biggest spenders in 2020 in the US for the Cyber holiday season, while the Silent Generation spent the least on Cyber Monday.
In the UK, the biggest spenders were the Millennials, while Generation Z spent the least.
What about gender and the number of shoppers?
- Men spend around $700, while women spend around $600 for both Black Friday and Cyber Monday, according to Finder.com.
- An estimated 186 million shoppers purchased goods during Cyber Week 2020, 190 million fewer than that of the same event 2019, according to Finances Online.
- The average cost spent by each shopper on Cyber Monday is $312, according to the same source.
- In the UK, 38% of women said they will spend on Black Friday and Cyber Monday compared to 39% of men, according to Finder.com.
What Devices Do the Buyers Use to Shop?
2020 was the year of online shopping. No wonder Cyber Monday became the biggest online shopping day, even bigger than Black Friday. Since those digital sales led many consumers to different retailers sites, the previous year buyers used their devices to get those early discounts.
For Cyber Monday last year in the U.S., holiday shoppers used mostly computers and mobile devices for their online spending. It was a similar situation in the UK.
- In the U.S., Android users spend more than 110 million hours on shopping apps in the weeks leading up to and during Cyber Monday, according to App Annie.
- Around 37% of total purchases came from smartphones, according to NBC News.
- In the UK, desktop held a majority share of orders at 49%, while smartphones accounted for 43% buys, according to BigCommerce.
- There was a decrease in tablet orders (-18.8%) and sales (-10.25%), according to the same source.
Where Do the Buyers Shop At?
The biggest online retailers were the winners in last year’s Cyber Monday race, both in the U.S. and in the UK. Those with more than $1 billion in annual revenue increased online Cyber Monday sales by 486% versus the October daily average.
Instead of going to the brick-and-mortar stores, people were looking for the best deals at small businesses but the largest chunk of the pie of the holiday shopping season got the big retailers like Walmart and Amazon.
In the U.S.,
- Walmart Inc. has record sales and their online revenue surged 150% year over year,
- Etsy had an 84% eCommerce growth,
- Target cached in at a growth of 71%,
- Best Buy has a 34% eCommerce growth, while
- Amazon.com Inc has seen a 29% growth, according to Digitalcommerce360.
In the UK, the numbers were a little different:
- Amazon remains a leading Cyber Week shopping destination for consumers in 2020.
- Facebook saw a 123% increase in GMV and 98% increase in orders YoY, according to BigCommerce.
Cyber Monday Statistics for Small Businesses
According to market data, a small business can profit a lot from this October holiday. Although electronics, small appliances and clothing take the majority of the pie, small businesses should take the opportunity and jump into the eCommerce frenzy.
Here are some of the statistics that small business owners should take into consideration when developing their marketing strategy and coming up with Cyber Monday deals for their business.
- The “golden hours of retail” are the 4 hours between 10:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. ET and they drive 30% of all Cyber Monday revenue, according to Adobe Digital Insights.
- Small businesses saw a greater increase in sales in 2020 than larger retailers on Cyber Monday, up 501%, according to a NBC News article.
- Smartphones accounted for 43% of all sales, according to BigCommerce.
- The top 50 retailers’ median percentage discount was 50%, according to a Digitalcommerce360 article.
Facts That You Might Not Know About Cyber Monday
With the Cyber Monday shopping holiday taking over as the biggest spending holiday of the season you may be interested in finding out some little-known facts about the day.
- The term Cyber Monday was first used by Ellen Davis during the 2005 holiday season, according to Reader’s Digest.
- Cyber Monday is celebrated around the world in the last few years, most notably in Germany, the UK, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Japan, Argentina, Canada, India, Chile, Portugal, Romania, Columbia, Sweden, Australia, and New Zealand, according to The Fact Site.
- 25% of Cyber Monday shoppers buy electronics, according to abt.com.
- Google Trends data shows interest in Black Friday picks up from September each year, according to Skimlinks.
- The days from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday capture 20% of all holiday online shopping, according to CMA.
People Also Ask
When is Cyber Monday 2021?
Cyber Monday 2021 is on Monday, November 29, 2021.
Is Cyber Monday global?
Yes, Cyber Monday is a global online shopping day where many retailers offer exclusive discounts for customers.
What goes on sale on Cyber Monday?
You can find anything on sale for Cyber Monday. However, as the name suggests, the dominant category for Cyber Monday is electronic devices.
Is it worth waiting for Cyber Monday?
Yes! It’s always worth waiting for Cyber Monday since many retailers cut the price anywhere from 30% to 70%, which lets you get the latest electronic device you wanted but also enables you to buy early Christmas presents for your loved ones.
When did Cyber Monday start?
In 2005, NRF coined the term Cyber Monday to describe a new trend of more traffic spikes and online revenue the Monday after Thanksgiving Day.
Conclusion
With Cyber Monday sales records topping the charts this holiday season many people may wonder whether the attraction to Cyber Monday is due to the deals, the fact that it is the last day in the major holiday shopping weekend, or due to the last year’s pandemic and the convenience of shopping at home.
While the high percentage of young shoppers is no surprise due to their internet savvy, many people may be a little shocked to see the bigger numbers of seniors taking advantage of the convenience of online shopping from home.
Since holiday shoppers avoid crowds in these uncertain times, is expected that Cyber Monday will gain even more momentum not only in the U.S. and the UK but also in other world countries to record-breaking levels each year.