Cyber Monday Sales On Track to Break Record Despite US Inflation

US shoppers have spent $6.3 billion so far on Cyber Monday, a robust showing that suggests steep discounts attracted inflation-stung shoppers.

Adobe says Cyber Monday will be the biggest online spending day of all time.

After a Sunday where consumers spent $5 billion online, there is a lot of steam coming into Cyber Monday. Adobe believes Cyber Monday will be a bright spot this season.

When supply-chain snarls caused people to shop earlier and retailers to skimp on discounts, it was known as the Cyber Five. Stores had a lot of unsold merchandise this year and were forced to slash prices to lure bargain-hunters.

Digital cameras and Legos were hot sellers. The discounts were more steep than a year ago. According to Adobe, electronics and toys had an average discount of 22% and 20%, respectively.

This year's holiday season is hard to predict because of conflicting economic indicators. Even though unemployment is low, interest rates are going up and prices are high. The slow rate of growth isn't entirely inflation-driven because prices for many consumer goods, particularly electronics, have dropped from a year ago

Black Friday and Cyber Monday have lost their cachet as shoppers spread their spending. Black Friday online spending was better than expected. The total for November and December is expected to be up 2.5% from last year.

According to Adobe, shoppers who weren't concerned about Covid-19 went back to stores for more shopping. Black Friday spending was up 12% from a year ago according to data from Mastercard.

Independent merchants who sell more than half of the products on the site benefit from the holiday deals promoted by Amazon. During the five-day promotional period, sales are on track to increase 75%, according to the Branded Group. The company had more inventory than it did a year ago, so it was able to offer more deals.

Pierre Poignant, Chief Executive Officer of the Branded Group, said that consumers probably look for deals in an inflationary environment.

Cyber Monday isn't worth waiting for anymore since most retailers just rebrand their Black Friday deals as Cyber Monday deals. She said retailers offered bargains on counter top kitchen appliances and electronics, which will likely be discounted even more after Christmas for those not in a rush.

She said that anything they don't sell will be marked down again. If you want to give it to someone as a gift, you have to purchase it now.