U.S. consumers were out in peak numbers for the year to shop over the Cyber 5 period, according to consumer data from the research company Numerator. Cyber 5 encompasses the busy shopping days between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday.
Black Friday was the most popular day for shopping. 89% of shoppers who made purchases over Cyber 5 shopped on Black Friday. It was much more popular than Cyber Monday, when 47% of consumers shopped, Numerator found. Saturday, sometimes called Small Business Saturday, was close behind with 45% of consumers.
Though it may have had fewer shoppers, Cyber Monday was still the biggest spending day online according to Adobe Analytics. Adobe recorded U.S. consumers spent $12.4 billion online on Cyber Monday, compared with $9.8 billion on Black Friday. The National Retail Federation also found that Black Friday was the most popular day for shopping, both in stores and online. Numerator’s findings are based on a survey of 5,035 Cyber 5 shoppers.
How consumers shopped over Cyber 5
The majority of holiday shoppers made purchases both in stores and online, according to Numerator. Just 14% said they shopped exclusively online, and 16% said they shopped exclusively in stores. However, shopping in stores slightly edged out online shopping. 26% of consumers shopped primarily in stores, compared with 20% shopping primarily online. Nearly a quarter (23%) said they split shopping equally between channels.
Regardless of how they shopped, most consumers considered multiple retailers. 27% shopped at five or more retailers. Only 8% of shoppers stuck to just one store.
They also largely planned out purchases in advance and shopped around for the best deals. 45% planned out purchases for the busy shopping days more than a week in advance. However, some shoppers were more spontaneous, with 26% deciding to shop the day before or day of sales.
Visiting retailer websites was the most common way consumers found items to purchase over Cyber 5, used by 51%. 43% browsed digital ads, and 33% were prepared with a list of products they hoped to purchase. Search engines and social media also drove purchases, used by 31% and 24% of consumers, respectively.
Some shoppers changed their spending patterns this year based on prices and their income. 72% said that rising prices at least somewhat impacted their gift shopping. However, nearly half (45%) said they spent the same amount as last year over Cyber 5. 36% say they spent less this year, and just 19% spent more.
Among consumers who spent less this year, 38% cited less disposable income as the primary reason. Another 35% said they didn’t see as many good deals this year. One-third said they were buying fewer gifts in 2023.
Top retailers and brands for Cyber 5
According to Numerator’s data, the retailers with the highest sales over Cyber 5 were:
Amazon says it sold more than 1 billion items between Nov. 17 and Nov. 27, including Cyber 5. Amazon.com received 26.5% of all traffic to the Top 1000 online retailers over the period, according to a Similarweb analysis. That’s an increase of 7.25%. Meanwhile, Walmart lost traffic share among the Top 1000, with total Black Friday traffic down 10% year over year. Walmart’s online marketplace had “its two biggest sales days ever” over Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the retailer announced.
Numerator found the top brands shoppers purchased from were Apple, Samsung, Bath & Body Works, PlayStation, and Whirlpool.
Some shoppers were on the hunt for gifts, while others bought mostly for themselves. 41% of respondents told Numerator they shopped primarily or exclusively for gifts to give to others. 32% focused on purchases for themselves.
Of those shopping for gifts, apparel was the top choice. 67% of gifters purchased apparel, followed by toys and games (48%), home goods (44%), electronics (43%) and beauty products (35%).
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