Cyber Monday Sets New U.S. Online Shopping Record

Cyber Monday Sets New U.S. Online Shopping Record
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When Americans started celebrating Thanksgiving in the 19th century, it was about cherishing the blessings of the year, particularly the year’s harvest. These days however, it appears as if many people spend the holiday thinking about what they might need rather than what they already have.

Over the past few years, Thanksgiving weekend has grown to become a huge shopping extravaganza both on- and offline. Retailers try to outdo each other in offering the best Black Friday / Cyber Monday deals and consumers willingly jump at the chance to kick off their holiday shopping and snap up some bargains.

Not surprisingly, this year’s Thanksgiving weekend saw online shopping records shattered once again. According to Adobe Digital Insights, e-commerce sales on Cyber Monday amounted to $6.59 billion this year, making it the largest online shopping day in U.S. history.

As of November 27, holiday season e-commerce sales (starting November 1), amounted to $50.01 billion, with every day in November passing the $1-billion mark in terms of online sales. While the majority of e-commerce dollars is still spent on desktop devices, smartphones (23%) and tablets (10%) thus far accounted for one third of online sales this holiday season.