Salesforce: Cyber Week online sales rose 9% to $68 billion
by December 6, 2022 2:29 pm 652 views
Salesforce reported U.S. Cyber Week – the week following Thanksgiving – sales rose 9% year-over-year to $68 billion. Global online sales for the same period were up 2% from a year ago to $281 billion.
A record-setting $12.2 billion in U.S. online sales during Cyber Monday (Nov. 28) helped drive this overall strong Cyber Week performance, according to Salesforce data. The Monday sales were up 8.3% over 2021.
Salesforce said 30% of consumers in the U.S. responded to heavy discounting during Cyber Week. The product categories with the highest average Cyber Week discounts were general apparel (34%), makeup and skincare (32%) and luxury handbags and apparel (26%), according to Salesforce data.
“After lackluster discounts earlier in the season, retailers stepped up their game throughout Cyber Week, and shoppers answered in kind. Our data shows an incredibly strong correlation between discount rates and digital sales as consumers held out for the biggest and best deals,” said Rob Garf, Salesforce general manager of retail.
With consumers spending down savings and credit card balances escalating by 15% during the third quarter, Salesforce found there was a 5% uptick in the number of consumers who used buy now, pay later to make purchases during Cyber Week. The data also showed the average buy now, pay later purchase decreased by 5% in value compared to a year ago.
”As we enter the home stretch of the holiday season, retailers must preserve margins by emphasizing automation to balance operational efficiency and customer loyalty. We anticipate that the retailers who lean into store fulfillment, personalize service, and streamline returns will be winners and find more success now,” Garf said.
Among consumers who shopped over Cyber Weekend, 88% said they shopped on Black Friday, up from 81% who said the same in 2021. Half of the survey participants said they shopped on Cyber Monday, on par with a year ago, and 45% shopped online during Thanksgiving Day, also about the same as last year.
The Numerator survey found 44% of Black Friday shoppers spend more than $100, with 22% spending more $200.