Cyber Monday 2019 Broke More Than One Record

Adobe Analytics reported Tuesday morning that consumers spent $9.4 billion on Cyber Monday, a 19.7% increase from last year’s shopping event. Let’s take a closer look.

Where they shopped: From the couch. The National Retail Federation said that 66 million U.S. consumers shopped only online over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, while 48 million only shopped IRL. $3 billion of sales came from purchases made on smartphones.

• Amazon said Monday was the biggest shopping day in company history.
• Smaller retailers got their due, too. Shopify reported that its merchants generated $2.9+ billion in revenue between Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

What they bought: LOL Surprise Dolls, Nintendo Switch consoles, and Apple laptops topped bestsellers lists.

The real MVPs: Night owls, procrastinators, and your coworker who Snapchats from the office at 10:30pm to look like they’re working hard. Adobe Analytics said that $2.9 billion, nearly a third of Cyber Monday’s total revenue, was generated between 10pm and 2am.

My takeaway: A record-breaking Cyber Monday gave U.S. retailers a much-needed confidence boost in a tense holiday shopping season overshadowed by tariff threats.