11+ Cyber Monday Statistics For Thanksgiving Shoppers

The air getting colder, and your grandma making a fuss about the Thanksgiving turkey, taking a few days off…can the end-of-November holiday season get any better?

It can—if you get the deals that come with it.

Whether it be in stores or online, millions of shoppers decide to make the most of the Black Friday discount campaigns. But one day is simply not enough for all bargain hunters, so it seems we all agreed to make a long weekend out of it.

After reading our Cyber Monday statistics, you’ll be the judge of who does it better: the all-time favorite Friday or the least despised Monday of the year.

Outrageous Cyber Monday Stats (Editor’s Choice):

• Cyber Monday started off with a $484 million revenue in 2006, which rose all the way to $10.8 billion in 2020.
• 24% of shoppers were excited to shop on Black Friday in 2020, but 30% waited for Cyber Monday.
• The 2020 Cyber Monday sales results demonstrated a 15.1% year-over-year increase from 2019.
• Specifically, small businesses experienced a 501% increase in sales in Cyber Monday 2020.
• There was a slight YoY revenue decrease (-0.9%) in 2021, but sales still surpassed $10 billion overall.
• On average, each shopper spends more than $400 during the Thanksgiving season.
• In 2021, Cyber Monday’s best-selling items included AirPods, Hot Wheels, and Nintendo Switch.

Cyber Monday Statistics for 2022

Cyber Monday has been around for 17 years now, and its popularity doesn’t seem to be diminishing at all.\

In fact, if the day’s track record is anything to go by, 2022 will be another excellent year for businesses across the country.

Let’s go over some of the most recent Cyber Monday stats.

1. In 2020, each consumer spent $401 on average during the Thanksgiving discount season.

(Source: Deloitte)

This actually represents a 3.3% decrease from 2019. Experts suggest the drop is most likely due to health and financial concerns amid the pandemic.

After all, 28% of Thanksgiving shoppers were anxious about making large payments such as rent, mortgage, and credit cards. Additionally, 44% delayed major purchases that they would have otherwise made during the Thanksgiving season.

But, specifically, how much did American shoppers spend on Cyber Monday?

2. During the pandemic, people spent $1.8 billion more on Cyber Monday than they did on Black Friday.

(Source: BlackFriday.com)

Black Friday generated approximately $9 billion in 2020. Cyber Monday surpassed that number by $1.8 billion, reaching an accumulated $10.8 billion worth of purchases.

This means that Cyber Monday recorded a 15.1% YoY increase in sales compared to 2019 ($7.8 billion).

Fun fact: Cyber Monday outperformed Black Friday during the 2007 recession. While Black Friday made $531 million, Cyber Monday reached $733 million in sales.

3. In 2021, Cyber Monday sales reached $10.7 billion.

(Source: Small Business Trends)

Despite the pandemic—or perhaps because of it—2020 was the best year for Cyber Monday to date. But 2021 didn’t do so bad, either.

Admittedly, the day’s revenue fell $100 million shorter than the previous year, but that only represents a 0.9% YoY revenue decrease. And let’s be real—that’s negligible on the larger scale of things.

Fun fact: During Cyber Monday’s busiest shopping hour (8:00 PM - 9:00 PM Pacific Time), consumers spent a combined $12 million per minute.

4. More than 100 million people were planning to make the most of Black Friday 2021.

(Source: Statista)

So, is Cyber Monday or Black Friday more popular?

It’s hard to say. In 2020, for example, 24% of shoppers were up for Black Friday bargain-hunting while 30% preferred to wait for Cyber Monday—but that could easily be because of the anxiety of in-person gatherings mid-pandemic.

In 2021, for comparison, a total of 179.8 million people went shopping at some point during the Thanksgiving weekend. If we narrow it down, then approximately 144 million people took advantage of Black Friday discounts, whereas only 97 million did the same on Cyber Monday.

5. Is Cyber Monday in stores, too?

(Source: National Retail Federation)

It is. In-store Cyber Monday shopping might be a bit of an oxymoron, but that doesn’t stop 20.3 million people from going to the mall and seeing what’s up.

A pretty interesting Black Friday vs Cyber Monday statistic shows that more digital shoppers are active immediately after Thanksgiving than once the weekend has passed. Specifically, 88 million people turned up online on Black Friday 2021—that’s 11 million more active shoppers than the ones on Cyber Monday.

However, if we look at it in terms of percentage, that number is a bit less impressive. While nearly 80% of Cyber Monday shoppers make digital purchases, the same is true for just 57% of all Black Friday enthusiasts.

The Cyber Monday Sales So Far

You already know how well Cyber Monday has been doing in the last couple of years, but let’s dive a bit deeper: What are people buying?

Who are the big players in the scene?

Do small businesses also see an increase in sales during the holiday?

We at Web Tribunal have all the numbers for you.

6. Home goods and clothes were the top sellers in 2020.

(Source: Finances Online).

Cyber Monday statistics suggest that half of all customers were looking forward to buying clothes on sale. Home goods and kids’ toys were also popular commodities, garnering the attention of 39% and 21% of shoppers, respectively.

Surprisingly enough, computers and tablets fell behind, with only 20% of shoppers being interested in acquiring some new tech.

In 2021, the most popular items included AirPods, Hot Wheels, Nintendo Switch, and TVs.

7. Discounts were noticeably smaller in 2021.

(Source: Adobe Blog)

Of course, the Cyber Monday average discount differs across different categories. Yet, we can still identify one major trend: the discounts were less attractive in 2021 than they were in 2020.

Let’s take electronics, for instance. While retailers slammed an average price reduction of 27% in 2020, they only discounted 12% in 2021.

Sporting goods and home appliances are other popular categories that had a similar fate—2020 prices shrunk by an average of 20%, but 2021 prices went down by a meager 8%.

Still, a small discount is better than no discount, right?

8. More than half of Cyber Monday shoppers are looking forward to the deals on Amazon.

(Source: Finances Online)

Unsurprisingly, Amazon is most people’s go-to e-store, with 56% of shoppers going after the Cyber Monday deals on Amazon. 

However, Jeff Bezos’ brainchild isn’t doing so great on the YoY growth scale. While its 29% increase in sales is certainly nothing to be embarrassed about, it’s nothing compared to Walmart’s 150% YoY increase.

Other big brands, such as Etsy (84%), Target (71%), and Best Buy (34%), seem to be growing more than Amazon, too—though, to be fair, the latter’s share of the ecommerce market is already enormous, so it’s really all the others who need to catch up.

Fun fact: Small businesses saw a larger increase in revenue than large retailers on Cyber Monday 2020. According to estimations, the former boast a 501% growth, whereas the latter fall behind with 486%.

Cyber Monday Fun Facts

Did you know that 7% of people don’t track how much money they spend during their Thanksgiving holiday shopping spree?

They probably consider bills to be a future-them problem.

Anyway, here are a few extra fun facts about one of the best shopping days of the year.

9. People started using the term Cyber Monday back in 2005.

(Source: The Fact Site)

Have you ever wondered who started Cyber Monday?

The National Retail Federation (NRF) coined it back in 2005 after tracking the shopping habits of US customers. It turned out that millions were actually tuning in online after the official discount day to shop for whatever they didn’t manage to get on Black Friday.

Why until Monday, though?

Because, back then, home broadbands sucked. So, workers preferred to use the comparatively quicker computers at the office to do some late discount shopping online—and that’s Cyber Monday’s origin.

10. Cyber Monday is still popular among 95% of office workers.

(Source: The Fact Site)

As the Internet gets quicker and technology evolves, fewer people rely on office computers and company WiFi—but that doesn’t mean they can't do shopping during their lunch break.

Nowadays, of course, the majority of people use their smartphones for browsing and purchasing. For instance, in 2021, there was a 90% uptick in mobile traffic during the Thanksgiving weekend. 

This is probably a smart move on the employees’ part, as at least 28% of employers have had to fire their employees for doing non-work-related activities online during work hours.

Imagine getting fired for taking advantage of the biggest online shopping days—it must suck.

Note: Some of the most popular work collaboration tools keep track of your activity and make it available for your employer to see. Some of them take screenshots, track the time you spend on each site, keep a record of your browsing history, allow access to your computer in real-time, etc. Bottom line: It’s best to assume that whatever you do with the device you use for work is not private.

11. The UK is the highest-spending European country on Cyber Monday.

(Source: Finances Online)

Although the origins of Cyber Monday are inevitably tied to a North American holiday, shoppers across the world are willing to participate in the discount season. And merchandisers don’t hesitate to offer price reductions either.

Thus, Cyber Monday, along with Black Friday, has now become a global phenomenon.

Surveys show that 89% of shoppers in the UK and 86% of those in Germany are aware of Cyber Monday. Spain and Italy don’t fall far behind, each boasting a popularity rate of no less than 80%.

What’s more, the UK is right after the US in overall sales. And even better, Cyber Week sales in the UK for 2020 increased by 146% from 2019.

Wrap Up

Cyber Monday started because of what people were already doing—finishing up their shopping lists after the holiday craziness had passed.

Now, though, given the billions of dollars people are spending in just a few days, we’d say it’s no longer just about “finishing up” with the things we need but also about indulging in the things we want.

(Not that we’re complaining.)

With a steady increase in sales over the years, except for the slight variance in 2021, Cyber Monday is certainly one of the best days you can choose to go shopping.

While we wait for the actual day to come, all we can do is build anticipation by looking into these fascinating Cyber Monday statistics.