The Unstoppable Surge of Cyber Week Online Shopping

Cyber Week 2023 is here, and guess what? It's set to break records. You might think the spread-out Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals lessen the impact. But no, shoppers are still keen. Adobe Analytics says Cyber Monday will lead with $12 billion in sales, a 6.1% increase from last year. Black Friday is close behind, eyeing a 5.7% rise to $9.6 billion. Even Thanksgiving Day sales are climbing up, expected to be 5.5% higher at $5.6 billion.

Now, the big picture – Cyber Week. It's not just a few days; it's a phenomenon. Adobe's betting on $37.2 billion in sales during these five days. That's a hefty 16.8% of the whole holiday season's online sales, projected to be $221.8 billion from November to December.

Here's the interesting part. Despite a shaky economy and rising interest rates, e-commerce is thriving. Patrick Brown from Adobe highlights this. The reason? It's the discounts, bigger than ever, and those flexible payment options.

But there's more. Deals are everywhere, all year. Does it make Cyber Week less special? Adobe doesn't think so. These days are landmarks, they say. The challenge for retailers is real, though. They need to make their deals count, offer true savings, not just cut prices from inflated ones. That's how they'll keep us hooked and preserve the essence of Cyber Week.

Black Friday and holiday shopping are famous for big discounts. But are these deals really the best? Recent research, especially from Which? in the UK, questions this. Adobe's data in the US shows some good discounts are coming, especially close to Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Electronics, toys, and apparel are getting cheaper, with discounts expected to be 25-35% higher than last year. But the discounts' patterns vary by category.

A Wallethub study also found that many Amazon products are cheaper during Black Friday than the weeks before. But this doesn't answer if these are the best yearly deals. The UK study discovered that only a tiny portion of Black Friday deals were actually the lowest yearly prices. Retailers say they don't always offer the lowest prices on Black Friday, as better deals can happen at other times.

NPR notes that Black Friday makes finding deals easier, even if they're not the year's lowest. Shoppers can use online tools to check if they're getting a good deal. So, the big question remains: Are holiday discounts really the best of the year? The answer is mixed.

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by Irfan Ahmad via Digital Information World