Score Big Savings on Cyber Monday – Shop ‘Til You Drop!

According to initial estimates from Adobe Digital Insights, online spending on Cyber Monday is expected to surpass $12 billion, marking a new record. Bargain hunters are eagerly purchasing various items such as Barbie dolls, Lego sets, headphones, and smart watches.

US shoppers are estimated to spend between $12 billion and $12.4 billion on Cyber Monday, the biggest online shopping day in the US.

A significant portion of that spending, about $4 billion, is expected to occur between 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. EST, especially for last-minute shoppers, it said. At the peak, this would represent a 9.7% increase over the $11.3 billion spent on Cyber Monday last year.

Retailers have enticed inflation-weary U.S. shoppers to open their wallets on Cyber Monday with push notifications, text messages and streaming video ads promoting deeply discounted cosmetics, electronics, toys, clothing and other products.

The push appears to have worked with US shoppers spending $8.3 billion online as of 6 p.m. EST (2300 GMT), according to Adobe Analytics, which tracks data through Adobe’s Experience Cloud service for e-commerce platforms.

Record-priced holiday shoppers are also expected to use “Buy Now, Pay Later” services on Cyber Monday to ease the stress on their wallets, according to the company.

“Whether the consumer is going to continue at this rate or not, we’re going to see them continue to spend. I think it’s going to be a much better Christmas than advertised,” said Nancy Tengler, managing director of Laffer Tengler Investments in Scottsdale, Arizona

Shoppers have been on the lookout for deals since 12 a.m. Monday, with transactions in the first 12 hours of the day surpassing the same period in 2022 at more than 700 brands and retailers, according to Criteo, which tracks U.S. sales. .

“Consumers are quite flexible and have found ways to buy gifts and experiences for their children and pets,” said Matthew Katz, CEO of consulting firm SSA & Company.

Still, Walmart, Target and Home Depot are among the companies cautioning against consumer strength, citing higher interest rates and declining household savings.

Charles Sizemore, chief investment officer at Sizemore Capital Management, said he expects retailers to make more markdowns in the coming weeks.

This makes him worry about profit margins at a time and labor costs have not decreased and buyers are still picky. “I really think margins are going to come down,” said Sizemore, whose company owns about $2 million each in Walmart and Target.

Amazon began marketing Cyber Monday Deals as early as Saturday, including up to 46% off some Instant Pots, 37% off select Vitamix blenders, and 35% off Amazon devices, including the 55-inch Amazon Fire TV.

Walmart, looking to capture market share, cut prices Sunday night, joining a trend of early discounts by retailers on key shopping days. On Monday, Walmart increased discounts on some clothing items to 60 percent, up from 50 percent on Black Friday.