Unexpected US Black Friday and Cyber Monday Boom... Online Sales Hit New Record

Despite a slowdown in U.S. consumer spending, the large-scale online promotional event following Black Friday, 'Cyber Monday,' achieved record-breaking sales, continuing its successful run.

On the 28th (local time), Adobe's marketing data analytics solution, Adobe Analytics, reported that U.S. e-commerce sales on Cyber Monday reached $12.4 billion (approximately 16 trillion KRW), a 9.6% increase compared to last year. This is the largest Cyber Monday sales figure ever recorded and exceeded Adobe's forecast of 6.1% growth.

Earlier, on Black Friday, the 24th, U.S. e-commerce sales were also recorded at $9.8 billion (approximately 12.8 trillion KRW), a 7.5% increase from the previous year. The total online sales over the five days from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday (known as 'Cyber Week') amounted to $38 billion (approximately 49.2 trillion KRW), also surpassing Adobe's forecast of $37.2 billion.

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

Amazon, the largest U.S. e-commerce company, did not disclose specific sales figures but announced that sales from the 17th of this month through Cyber Monday marked the highest ever for the same period, with consumers worldwide purchasing more than 1 billion items during this time.

In the U.S., major discount events continue from Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, through Cyber Monday the following Monday. This peak shopping period is considered a barometer of U.S. consumer sentiment.

During Cyber Monday, the average discount rate for electronics on online shopping malls was 31%, and for clothing products, it was 23%. Vivek Pandya, an analyst at Adobe, commented, "This year's Thanksgiving shopping season began amid significant uncertainty, but online sales during Cyber Week demonstrated the impact of discount events on consumer demand. Luxury goods, in particular, stimulated impulse purchases."

Analysis suggests that the strong consumer spending during this Thanksgiving holiday period was significantly influenced by Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services. BNPL is similar to credit card installment functions in that payments for purchased goods are spread over several months, but it can be used without fees or interest by students, young professionals, and immigrants who cannot obtain credit cards or have low credit limits. According to Adobe's data, sales paid via BNPL on Cyber Monday surged 42.5% year-over-year to $940 million.

Although Adobe's data is limited to online shopping mall sales, the stronger-than-expected consumer spending during the holiday discount events is expected to somewhat alleviate concerns about a consumer spending slowdown.

Earlier, U.S. retail sales for October, announced on the 15th, totaled $705 billion, a 0.1% decrease from the previous month. This was the first decline in U.S. retail sales in seven months since March.

Major U.S. retailers have also issued warnings about a deepening consumer slowdown. Walmart's Chief Financial Officer (CFO), John David Rainey, expressed concern during the earnings announcement on the 16th, stating, "Consumers began cutting back on spending in grocery and daily necessities sectors from late October."

Target's Chief Growth Officer (CGO), Christina Hennington, also said, "Consumers are facing new headwinds such as high interest rates and student loan repayments," adding, "Economic pressures are directly impacting sales of discretionary consumer goods."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.