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📂 Category: Economic News,News
📌 Main takeaway:
Key takeaways
- Many Americans have been holiday shopping for weeks and will make final decisions tonight as Cyber Monday specials end.
- Total retail spending is on track to surpass last year’s numbers, but people are buying fewer goods as prices rise.
It’s the last call to finalize your transfer.
Adobe said Cyber Monday spending could peak from 8pm to 10pm today as Americans make decisions before sales end and collectively spend about $16 million per minute. The software company estimates that online shoppers will have spent $14.2 billion by the end of the day, or about 6% more than last year.
Retail spending over the weekend beat Adobe estimates, and other analysts also believe consumer spending looks strong. Vivek Pandya, senior analyst at Adobe Digital Insights, said they had more time to analyze the situation: Many Americans started holiday shopping early this year and were looking for sales before Black Friday.
“Consumers now expect similar deals to be made earlier during Cyber Week, and many are not waiting to hit the buy button,” Pandya said in a statement. “Cyber Monday has essentially become ‘last call’ for deep discounts during the holiday season.”
Adobe said Americans are spending more money on fewer items, perhaps because they are “trading in.” But inflation and tariffs may also be a factor. Analysts said Monday that promotions were similar or less generous than last year at more than 70% of retail businesses tracked by JPMorgan.
Why this news matters to consumers
Analysts said retailers and merchants were generally offering similar or less significant discounts than they did last year. Although you can save, be careful not to feel pressured to act now because of a promotion that is less beneficial than it seems.
Salesforce, a software company, said online shoppers tend to check out fewer items and order volume fell 1% year over year on Black Friday, while average prices rose 7%. Over the weekend and early Monday, order volume rose 1% year over year, but prices rose 5%, according to Salesforce.
“On the surface, sales were strong, but shoppers continued to feel the pinch of inflation,” said Kayla Schwartz, director of consumer insights at Salesforce.
Apparel, sneakers, luxury clothing, luggage sets, smart watches and toys, such as Pokemon cards, stuffed animals and mystery items, were popular purchases, analysts said.
Holiday spending may exceed $1 trillion for the first time, according to the National Retail Federation, and colder winter forecasts may help. But much of the growth may come from wealthy Americans, while others try to limit their spending.
JPMorgan said cooler temperatures during December could be “positive for store traffic and basket trends, especially after a relatively warm start to the fall and winter.”
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