Consumers spent a total of $14.25 billion online on December 1, Cyber Monday, up 7.1 percent year-over-year (YoY), as they took advantage of a wide range of deals, according to Adobe Analytics. The increase topped Adobe’s initial projection of $14.2 billion, up 6.3 percent YoY. Sales of apparel grew 5.2 percent while sporting goods gained 6.0 percent on the day, with hot sellers including active wear, athleisure, fitness trackers, and massage guns.
During the peak hours of 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., consumers spent $16 million per minute.
Adobe said after Cyber Week, discounts will come down from their peaks, but shoppers can still find deals through the first week of December in toys (peaking at 23 percent off listed price), computers (20 percent), electronics (19 percent), televisions (19 percent), apparel (18 percent), sporting goods (15 percent), appliances (15 percent), and furniture (15 percent).
Cyber Week, the five-day period from Thanksgiving Day to Cyber Monday, brought in $44.2 billion in online sales overall (up 7.7 percent YoY), bolstered by record online spending during Black Friday ($11.8 billion, up 9.1 percent YoY). This is now the second consecutive holiday season where Black Friday online sales growth outpaced Cyber Monday (2024: Cyber Monday up 7.3 percent YoY, Black Friday up 10.2 percent YoY), as consumers took advantage of early, competitive deals.
Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) Crosses $1 Billion Milestone
Adobe said use of the flexible payment method hit an all-time high on Cyber Monday, driving $1.03 billion in online spend (up 4.2 percent YoY). The vast majority of BNPL transactions occurred on mobile devices as well, with a 79.4 percent share on Cyber Monday (vs. desktop). In an Adobe survey of over 1,000 U.S. consumers, conducted in November 2025, respondents said they were most likely to use BNPL for electronics, apparel, toys, and furniture purchases.
Online Shopping Propelled by AI and Social Media
Adobe said Generative AI-powered chat services and browsers “are making their mark on this year’s holiday season, as a helpful tool for consumers to find deals and research products.” On Cyber Monday, AI traffic to U.S. retail sites, measured by shoppers clicking links, increased by 670 percent. So far this holiday season (November 1 to December 1), AI traffic is up 760 percent. Adobe said, “While the base of users remains modest, the uptick shows the value AI can deliver as a shopping assistant. These services were used most in categories including video games, appliances, electronics, toys, and personal care products.”
“U.S. retailers leaned heavily on discounts this holiday season to drive online demand. Competitive and persistent deals throughout Cyber Week pushed consumers to shop earlier, creating an environment where Black Friday now challenges the dominance of Cyber Monday,” said Vivek Pandya, lead analyst, Adobe Digital Insights. “Shoppers have also become increasingly savvy in finding the best deals and locating the right products, embracing generative AI-powered chat services and browser tools for the second season in a row.”
Additional Cyber Monday Insights
- Mobile cemented as preferred transaction channel: 57.5 percent of online sales came through mobile devices on Cyber Monday (vs. desktop), representing $8.2 billion in spend (up 8.0 percent YoY). Shopping on smaller screens has seen significant traction in recent years, where just 5 years ago (2020), mobile share came in at 41.4 percent for Cyber Monday. On Thanksgiving Day, mobile share crossed 60 percent for the first time (61.6 percent). Adobe said this is driving more impulse shopping and boosting holiday-season growth.
- Electronics, apparel, and furniture continue to dominate e-commerce: On Cyber Monday, over half of online spend (57 percent) was driven by just three categories: electronics ($3.7 billion, up 12.8 percent YoY), apparel ($2.6 billion, up 5.2 percent YoY), and furniture ($1.8 billion, up 5.4 percent YoY). Other standouts included cosmetics ($0.5 billion, up 7.0 percent YoY) and sporting goods ($0.6 billion, up 6.0 percent YoY).
- What consumers are buying: Online sales of Bluetooth headphones and speakers were up 1,850 percent on Cyber Monday (compared to average spending levels in October 2025). Other categories with strong sales included video game consoles (up 1,800 percent), refrigerators and freezers (up 1,700 percent), home security systems (up 1,500 percent), smart home products (up 1,450 percent), smartwatches and fitness trackers (up 1,400 percent), vacuum cleaners (up 1,300 percent), small kitchen appliances (up 1,250 percent), computers (up 1,200 percent), earrings (up 950 percent), cookware (up 950 percent), power tools (up 900 percent), and outerwear (up 850 percent).
Other hot sellers on Cyber Monday included digital cameras, luggage sets, fitness trackers, televisions, robot and cordless vacuums, massage guns, countertop ice machines, active wear and athleisure, and heated blankets.
2025 Holiday Season Off To A Strong Start
Season-to-date (November 1 to December 1), consumers spent a total of $137.4 billion online, up 7.2 percent YoY. Mobile shopping has driven a 52.8 percent share of online sales so far (vs. desktop), representing $73.7 billion in spend and up 7.2 percent YoY. Additionally, BNPL has driven $10.1 billion in spend, up 9.0 percent YoY.
Strong discounts this season have also driven consumers to purchase higher-ticket items across categories such as electronics, sporting goods, and appliances. So far this season (November 1 to December 1), the “share-of-units-sold” for the most expensive goods has increased by 19 percent. Across categories, this figure was up 54 percent in electronics, 52 percent in sporting goods, 41 percent in appliances, 30 percent in personal care products, and 26 percent in tools and home improvement.
Image courtesy Zeta Global
