Cyber Monday sales hit record $11B — here’s what shoppers bought

Discount-hunting shoppers snapped up Pokemon cards, TVs and air fryers on Cyber Monday, pushing sales to $11.3 billion — making it the biggest US online shopping day in history, according to data from Adobe Analytics.

Sales, not adjusted for inflation, rose 5.8% from a year ago, per data from Adobe Analytics, which measures e-commerce performance by analyzing purchases at 85% of the top 100 internet retailers in the United States.

While retailers started promotions and discount offers as early as October to induce more sales, inflation-weary shoppers had largely put off their holiday shopping until the Black Friday weekend and Cyber Monday in hopes of finding the best deals.

Major retailers including Target, Macy’s and Best Buy have all signaled a return to pre-pandemic shopping patterns and the need to discount more heavily during the traditional single-day shopping events.

Toys were the hottest products on Cyber Monday, with online sales going up nearly eight-fold compared to an average day in October 2022, according to the Adobe Analytics report.

Electronics sales rose nearly five-fold, while sporting goods, appliances and books also saw increases of well over 400%.

The report added that Pokemon cards, Hot Wheels, PlayStation 5s, Smart TVs and Apple AirPods were among the best-selling products.

About 196.7 million shoppers made purchases during the five-day holiday period from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday, the National Retail Federation said on Tuesday.

Shopify, an online payment services provider, said on Tuesday merchants using its platform logged a record $7.5 billion in sales globally from Black Friday through Cyber Monday.

Still, some experts were not convinced that a bright Cyber Monday was a sign of inflation easing its burden on consumer sentiment.

“Online shopping still makes up only about 15% of all retail sales. So it is not necessarily a great indicator of the health of the economy overall,” said Dan North, senior economist at global trade credit insurer Allianz Trade North America.