Jan. 4 (UPI) — Driven by people shopping on their smartphones, online holiday spending reached a record $221.1 billion over the 2023 holiday season, according to Adobe Analytics on Thursday.
Mobile shopping surpassed desktop shopping for the first time as spending increased 4.9% from Nov. 1 through Dec. 31, compared to the same time last year. Abode Analytics said 51.1% of shoppers confirmed their deals via the smartphone, setting the pace for online purchases. Mobile made up 47.1% of holiday sales in 2022.
Cyber Week, the period from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, traditionally the first Monday after Thanksgiving, exploded with a 7.8% increase with $38 billion in sales.
“In an uncertain demand environment, retailers leaned on discounting and flexible payment methods to entice shoppers this holiday season,” Vivek Pandya, the lead analyst of Adobe Digital said in a statement.
“The strategy was effective, driving record spent online during big days like Cyber Monday and Black Friday, and a record 11 days that surpassed $4 billion in daily spending this season.”
Adobe Analytics said that customers spent $123.5 billion online in November, a 6% increase over last year, and $98.6% in December, a boost of 3.7% from 2022.
Electronics were on the top of consumer’s shopping list, making up $50.8 billion in sales, followed by apparel, $41.5 billion; furniture, $27.3 billion; groceries, $19.1 billion; and toys, $7.7 billion. In the electronics category, customers snatched up televisions, smart speakers, tablets, Bluetooth headphones and smartwatches the most.
Spending this past holiday season showed a continued rebound from the 2020 pandemic season. The 2021 holiday season total of $204.5 billion was then 8.6% better than the COVID-19 limiting 2020.
In December, Mastercard said U.S. residents overall increased their spending over the holiday season in clothing, dining, grocery and detail.
Mastercard said overall sales in retail grew 3.1% from 2022, while customers spending on dining jumped 7.8%.
