Cyber Monday Numbers Look Promising with Promotions and Discounts

November 30, 2022  by HFBusiness Staff in Business Strategy, Industry   

While inflation may account for much of the increase, Adobe Analytics predicts the increase to be at least 8.5% from last year. Inflation rose 7.7% in October alone, which was the lowest since January.

"If you exclude inflation, which has been running in high-single-digits, you come to a flattish number in real terms which would really not be too bad," Telsey Advisory Group analyst Joseph Feldman said.

If it seems to you that there have been deals and discounts tempting you for weeks, you are not wrong. Retailers have been trying to entice shoppers since October to spend their money. However, a lot of Americans have put off their holiday shopping just waiting for the next, better deal.

"Shoppers are waiting out the season in anticipation of deeper discounts and are less susceptible to shiny objects," said Carol Spieckerman, president at consultancy Spieckerman Retail.

Target.com advertised discounts of up to 40% on toys and holiday decorations on Cyber Monday, while Amazon.com pitched 60% off promos on jewelry and accessories.

There were discounts of as much as 27% off listed prices on computers, Adobe said, and double-digit discounts on nearly all other categories, including furniture, clothes, and toys.

Shoppers still have to pay more for popular items because of inflation, and the fact that prices have risen faster than promotions in many categories, according to data provided by DataWeave.

For Thanksgiving Weekend (Thursday thru Cyber Monday) Adobe estimates online spending will rise 2.8% to $34.8 billion.

Last year, retailers were pushing their promotions early, too, because of their desire to avoid the product shortages that were occurring due to the global shipping crisis, and 2021’s Cyber Monday sales fell 1.4%, according to Adobe Analytics.