The biggest consumer trends for Cyber Monday 2022

Cyber Monday is the biggest online shopping day of the year. But in 2021, we saw a slight decline in Cyber Monday revenue for the first time ever. While Cyber Monday itself hasn’t changed, there are certainly some new consumer trends on the horizon that will affect the 2022 holiday shopping season.

As a business leader, it’s important for you to understand last year’s Cyber Monday trends so you can boost sales and performance this year. Check out our guide to see a list of Cyber Monday statistics and trends, as well as how you can best prepare for Cyber Monday 2022.

In this article, you’ll learn:

• Customers are shopping earlier
• Black Friday is still bigger overall
• Mobile commerce grows but slows
• Higher prices and lower discounts
• Ecommerce platforms succeed
• Amazon continues to rule Cyber Monday
• Cyber Week grows internationally
• Financing and alternative payment methods flourish
• Supply chain issues continue
• Customers love curbside and BOPIS
• Cyber Monday is multichannel
• Customers’ preferred purchases remain stable
• Cyber Monday statistics
• How to succeed on Cyber Monday 2022
• How to get ready for Cyber Monday

Customers are shopping earlier

While Cyber Week numbers did drop slightly in 2021, the entirety of the shopping season still saw growth in November. In fact, customers spent a whopping $109.8 billion online, which was an 11.9% increase from 2020 to 2021.

This is likely because businesses are releasing deals earlier — so customers don’t need to wait until Cyber Monday to shop for sales. This is a trend that has only been exacerbated by supply chain issues and concerns about product availability. So, while sales on single days like Cyber Monday might have stagnated, the shopping season as a whole is still very healthy.

Black Friday is still bigger overall — but not online

While Cyber Monday has seen massive gains over the past few years, Black Friday is still the king when it comes to total sales and volume thanks to in-store shoppers. Black Friday 2021 saw an impressive 66 million customers, while Cyber Monday had just 20.3 million in-store shoppers.

In terms of the number of online shoppers, Black Friday also came out on top. Almost 90 million people shopped online on Black Friday compared to 77 million on Cyber Monday. However, Cyber Monday did beat out Black Friday in total online spending. In 2021, shoppers spent an impressive $10.7 billion on Cyber Monday, compared to the $8.9 billion they spent on Black Friday.

Mobile commerce grows but slows

Mobile continues to grow as more consumers want to shop on their phones. But the trajectory has slowed after rapid growth in recent years. On Cyber Monday 2021, smartphones accounted for 39.7% of sales, which was a paltry 8.4% year-over-year increase. In 2021, mobile earned 43% revenue share, though, which is still impressive. Cyber Monday 2021 figures show that smartphone shoppers spent $4.5 billion.

But mobile has not overtaken desktop on Cyber Monday. That could be because shoppers are back at work and using their desktops to do holiday shopping. Desktops have a two times higher conversion rate, on average, so brands should still plan for the bulk of sales to come from those users.

Higher prices and lower discounts

In 2021, holiday shoppers struggled against more expensive purchases and worse Cyber Monday deals. As inflation affects the price of everything, businesses marked up the prices of certain products and avoided hefty discounts in an effort to maintain slim project margins.

During Cyber Week 2021, the average selling price (ASP) went up by 5% globally — and 11% in the US. The price of the average Cyber Monday shopping cart increased by 13.9% in 2021. Discounts for electronics were just 12% (compared to 27% in 2020), and appliances were at 8% (compared to 20%).

Ecommerce platforms succeed

Despite stagnation overall, many ecommerce giants still saw massive success and growth during the 2021 shopping season. Shopify stores saw a 23% increase, while BigCommerce sellers had 15% YoY growth on Cyber Monday sales. Commerce Cloud sellers experienced a 9% increase in year-over-year sales on Cyber Monday, too.

Amazon continues to rule Cyber Monday

Amazon continues to be the dominant force during Cyber Week. In 2021, the retail goliath consistently drove more traffic and made more sales than competitors like Walmart and Target. In fact, Amazon revenue went up by 10.68% after Black Friday 2021.

Amazon also outshines other big retailers thanks to its lower prices and better deals. On average, Amazon’s Cyber Monday prices were 14% cheaper than its competitors.

Cyber Week grows internationally

Cyber Week as a whole continues to grow internationally, with more and more non-Americans taking part in the shopping bonanza. Globally, Cyber Week sales shot up to $275 billion in 2021, which was an all-time high.

However, Black Friday is more popular with international consumers than Cyber Monday. Even so, it’s still a predominantly American holiday, with 21.2% of all Black Friday searches coming from the United States.

Financing and alternative payment methods flourish

Thanks to higher prices and lower discounts, more consumers used alternative payment methods to fund their 2021 holiday purchases. From Apple Pay and Google Pay to PayPal and others, customers love the flexibility and ease of using an alternative payment method (APM) to pay for their gifts.

One type of APM that saw growth in 2021 was one-click checkout, which offered quick and easy purchases. In fact, Bolt one-click checkouts accounted for 9% of BigCommerce Cyber Week sales.

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) also surged in popularity. Consumers liked financing their purchases, so it’s no surprise that BNPL usage grew 29% YoY during Cyber Week 2021. While other alternative payment methods grew, BNPL became the dominant option, accounting for 20% of all APM transactions.

Supply chain issues continue

Even as the world began to recover from the massive supply chain issues of 2020, it wasn’t enough to avoid inventory challenges during Cyber Week 2021. In fact, Cyber Monday was hit the hardest because it’s at the end of Cyber Week — meaning shoppers were left with bottom-of-the-barrel products and stock-outs.

On Cyber Monday, shoppers received 8% more out-of-stock messages compared to 2020. American brands’ product catalogs also shrunk by 6% to account for supply chain problems.

Customers love curbside and BOPIS

Consumers like convenience, and they’re not going to give up the convenience of the buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS) options that became common during the pandemic. In fact, stores that offered curbside or BOPIS saw an unbelievable 50% YoY increase in Black Friday revenue over stores that didn’t offer these options.

This trend was especially valuable for Cyber Monday customers who didn’t want to pay for high shipping costs or who wanted their products immediately after purchasing them online. It also allowed health-conscious customers to stay safe at home and pick up their products curbside.

Cyber Monday is multichannel

Mobile shopping is important — but when it comes to Cyber Monday, all channels matter. Since every shopper is different, businesses need to offer sales on multiple channels or they risk leaving money on the table.

From social media to in store, every channel has a part to play. Social media saw 98% growth, while 20 million people still shopped in store for Cyber Monday 2021. For many merchants, Amazon or other large ecommerce vendors can be an entire channel by itself around the holidays.

Customers’ preferred purchases remained stable

Just like in previous years, the majority of shoppers’ Cyber Week purchases were gifts. On average, shoppers spent $301.27 — with $215.40 of that amount spent on gifts.

Toys, electronics, and video games continue to dominate Cyber Monday. Last year’s top sellers were toys, which saw an 11 times increase in sales over preseason figures in September 2021. Gift cards increased by 7 times, books also grew by 7 times, video games went up 6 times, and baby products increased 6 times as well.

Cyber Monday statistics

• Over 179 million shoppers participated in either in-store or online shopping during Black Friday weekend.

• iOS users made 122% more orders than Android users, which was a 15% increase over 2020.

• Globally, 47 million shoppers bought from direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands with Shopify stores.

• Globally, consumers spent $74 billion in the first three weeks of November 2021 — a 10% increase over 2020.

• Nearly 105 million shoppers visited stores in person, which was an increase over the 92.3 million people who shopped in store in 2020.

How to succeed on Cyber Monday 2022

While Cyber Monday 2021 was full of surprises for retailers, it certainly gave us an idea of what to expect in 2022. It’s time to get prepared and follow these six guiding principles to take advantage of Cyber Monday trends.

1. Start preparing early

Shoppers expect sales and deals earlier and earlier in the holiday season. This means your customers aren’t waiting for Black Friday or Cyber Monday to make their purchases. Plan now so you can start hyping up shoppers as early as the first week of November.

2. Be ready for returns

Unfortunately, returns are just part of being a retailer. Plenty of people will receive products they don’t want, so prepare your staff for returned gifts. Make sure your customer service folks are equipped for an increased workload and know how to process returns quickly and efficiently.

3. Utilize all marketing avenues

Cyber Monday is the biggest online shopping day of the year, so you need to market your brand like there’s no tomorrow. This means using marketing channels like:

• Email
• Social media
• In store
• Paid ads
• Website
• Influencers
• Direct mail

Cyber Monday is the time to use everything at your disposal to bring in more customers, so invest in a multichannel strategy to boost sales.

4. Have alternatives to popular products ready

The supply chain crunch is continuing into 2022, so it’s a given that popular products will sell out by Cyber Monday. If you don’t have alternatives available, shoppers will simply leave instead of buying something. Brainstorm several alternatives to your most popular products. Nobody wants to see a slew of “sold out” banners on your site, so get creative.

5. Allow customers to buy now, pay later (and BOPIS if possible)

Customers really like flexible financing, especially around the holiday season. If you can, offer customers BNPL options like Afterpay or Klarna to give them the flexibility they crave. If you have a brick-and-mortar store, you can draw in more customers with the convenience of BOPIS too.

6. Be smart with discounts

Shoppers are on the hunt for a good deal on Cyber Monday, so they’re looking for the lowest price possible. But as a business, you need to find a good middle ground between ridiculously low prices and making a profit. Discount where you can, but also consider offering bundles or other appealing deals that won’t hurt your margins.

Get ready for Cyber Monday

Cyber Monday trends are always changing, and that’s certainly the case for the 2022 shopping season. Consumers will shop earlier, buy on their desktop computers, and shop in store or via curbside.

When you’re ready to get started, begin by preparing for Cyber Monday in advance. You need to plan for returns, create cross-channel marketing campaigns, offer alternatives to your most popular products, allow BNPL and BOPIS, and discount carefully.

While these six Cyber Monday best practices will get you far, your brand needs a lot of firepower to get more value out of your holiday promotions. Adobe Commerce and Adobe Analytics will help you do just that. With Adobe Commerce, you can build engaging shopping experiences for every type of customer.

Watch the Adobe Commerce overview or take a product tour to learn more.

Adobe Analytics, backed by Adobe Sensei, uses artificial intelligence to deliver predictive insights based on the full scope of your data.

Request a demo of Adobe Analytics or learn more now.