NEW YORK – As the holiday shopping frenzy reaches its climax on Cyber Monday, many Americans are expected to be glued to their screens, hunting for some of the season’s most enticing deals. This post-Thanksgiving shopping spree has become a staple in the U.S., drawing consumers to their computers and smartphones.
Online shopping has firmly entrenched itself in the daily lives of countless individuals, and this trend only intensifies during the holiday gift-buying season. Despite economic uncertainties, experts predict that Cyber Monday will see unprecedented spending, as consumers are eager to snag the best deals.
According to Adobe Analytics, U.S. consumers are projected to spend a staggering $14.2 billion online this Cyber Monday, marking a 6.3% increase from the previous year. This comes after shoppers already shelled out $11.8 billion on Black Friday and $6.4 billion on Thanksgiving, surpassing Adobe’s initial estimates.
The financial activity during Cyber Week, encompassing the five key shopping days from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday, serves as a barometer for consumer willingness to spend during the holiday season.
“Cyber Week has had a robust start,” noted Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights. “We anticipate that elevated discounts will persist through Cyber Monday, which is expected to remain the top online shopping day of both the season and the year.”
Adobe’s latest data suggests that discounts will peak on electronics and apparel, with reductions averaging 30% and 26% off the usual listed prices, respectively.
While the amount of money going into online shopping carts is expected to reach new heights as consumers try to get the biggest bangs for their bucks while they can, rising retail prices also may contribute to any record sales figures that materialize.
Businesses and households have watched anxiously for financial impacts from U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on foreign imports. Workers in both the public and private sectors are also struggling with anxieties over job security amid both corporate layoffs and the after-effects of the 43-day government shutdown.
For the November-December holiday season overall, the National Retail Federation estimates that U.S. shoppers will spend more than $1 trillion for the first time this year. But the rate of growth is slowing — with an anticipated increase of 3.7% to 4.2% year over year, compared to 4.3% during last year’s holiday season.
At the same time, credit card debt and delinquencies on other short-term loans have been rising. More and more shoppers are turning to “buy now, pay later” plans, which allow them to delay payments on holiday decor, gifts and other items.
Buy now, pay later loans are expected to drive $20.2 billion in online spending this holiday season, according to Adobe, up 11% from last year. The firm predicted that buy now, pay later loans would pass a new $1 billion milestone on Cyber Monday, the vast majority involving purchases made on mobile devices.
Overall, mobile devices have become the dominant shopping platform consumers are turning to for the holidays. Adobe expects smartphones, wearable tech and other handheld electronics to account for 56.1% of online spending this season, worth a total of $142.7 billion.
Five years ago, a majority of online purchases were made on desktops.
Shopping services powered by artificial intelligence are also expected to play a role in what consumers choose to buy. Software company Salesforce estimated that AI asssitants and digital agents contributed to $14.2 billion of the total $79 billion it said was spent online worldwide on Black Friday.
Cyber Monday’s “hot sellers” will include gaming consoles such as the Nintendo Switch 2 and toys-turned-fashion statements like Labubu Dolls, Adobe said. The analystics firm anticipates the newest editions of popular consumer electronics — including the iPhone 17, Google Pixel 10 and Samsung Galaxy S25 — will also see high demand.
To many, Cyber Monday is billed as the “last call” to take advantage of the deepest discounts in the days following Thanksgiving. But its reach has grown over the years.
Cyber Monday is two decades old now, dating back to when the National Retail Federation first coined the term in 2005. Today, sales continue to bubble up throughout the week — riding on the hype that the industry has built to fuel consumer spending.
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