November 28, 2018
Recent years’ Black Friday sales have produced viral videos of rowdy crowds pushing and shoving their way into stores, eager to do anything for a great deal.
But not this year. While over 165 million Americans shopped either online or in stores between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, more shoppers are saying “no thanks” to the chaos of brick-and-mortar shopping and opting to make their first holiday purchases online.
Online sales were up more than 23% on Black Friday, bringing in more than $6 billion in sales. Meanwhile, brick-and-mortar sales were an estimated 4-7% lower compared to last year. The drop in brick-and-mortar sales is part of a trending decline of in-person shopping on Black Friday over the last few years.
As for Cyber Monday, estimates show this year’s online shopping on Cyber Monday increased 19% compared to last year, with more than $7.9 billion in sales. That figure makes this Cyber Monday the largest online shopping day—ever.
While the internet’s impact on the consumer shopping experience is hardly novel, this year’s growth certainly points to the ways broadband connectivity is changing how Americans interact with the world around them. We hope this trend means more time spent with loved ones for the holidays, and less time spent elbowing through shopping mall crowds.