Stealing the spotlight: The Cyber Five period used to be the kickoff to the holiday shopping season. But this year, Amazon’s October Prime Day event could take away from Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, according to Adobe.
- Consumers spent $73.7 billion during the first Prime Day in July, a nearly 21% increase year over year (YoY), which bodes well for this week’s event.
Shrinking share: Adobe anticipates Cyber Five sales will hit $34.8 billion this year, up 2.8% from 2021. But the week’s share of the full season has dropped just a bit from 16.6% to 16.3% of total holiday sales.
- Cyber Monday will remain the year’s biggest shopping day, driving $11.2 billion in sales, a 5.1% increase YoY.
- Black Friday sales won’t see as much growth this year, climbing just 1% to $9 billion, while Thanksgiving sales will fall 1% to $5.1 billion.
Heavy hitters: Just three categories will contribute nearly half of total online spending ($209.7 billion) this Cyber Five period.
- Despite heavy discounting, sales of electronics will total $49.8 billion, up 2.9% YoY.
- Apparel sales will be down 6.7% this year to $40.7 billion as more consumers shop in-store.
- Grocery sales will see double-digit growth, hitting $13.3 billion.
Make a deal: As retailers try to shrink bloated inventories and win over tightened wallets, discounting will be at an all-time high this holiday season.
- Computers, electronics, and toys will see the largest discounts (at 32%, 27%, and 22%, respectively).
- Other categories like TVs, apparel, appliances, sporting goods, and furniture and bedding will be discounted anywhere from 11% to 19%.
A little up, a little down: The way customers shop and pay will see some changes from last year.
- Curbside pickup was used in 25% of all online orders in December 2021. Adobe estimates that use of the service will remain around 25% through November but will peak at 35% from December 22 to 23 as consumers shop for last-minute gifts.
- Though it saw significant traction last year, buy now, pay later usage will slow this holiday season as it struggles to attract mass consumers.
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