Cyber Week 2024: The Official US Recap

Cyber Week 2024 was filled with shoppers filling their baskets, looking for the best deals of the season. They found them in beauty, footwear, toys, video games, and more! Rakuten Advertising retailers and publishers alike saw incremental growth year-over-year in key retail verticals and an overall increase in sales and orders compared to years past.

As we look back on our 2024 holiday shopping predictions, we noticed shoppers started planning their gift shopping earlier. Despite this shift, Cyber Week still managed to claim its spot as the top shopping week of the year. This Cyber Week, we explored real-time data trends and insights across our US and global networks.

2024’s top trends: exponential growth is happening!

According to figures from Adobe Analytics, which tracks seasonal e-commerce activity, Cyber Week brought in a massive $34.3 billion dollars, nearly 8% more spent in 2024 vs. 2023. Cyber Monday has typically been the largest day of the “Cyber 5” shopping days, and this year was no different, with Cyber Monday bringing in $13.3 billion alone, almost $1 billion more than in 2023. Thanksgiving saw $6.1 billion in sales and Black Friday had $10.8 billion in sales, up from 2023 numbers. The combination of strong sales and buy-now-pay-later payment offerings allowed consumers to flex their spending and buy everything on their lists, and more!

Cyber Week 2024 kicked off with a bang as American shoppers eagerly filled their carts, aiming to make this holiday season one to remember with great deals for everyone on their lists. Equipped with deals and discount codes, consumers set off on a journey through online marketplaces to snag the best bargains for all. From colleagues to kids, consumers got the best deals on everything under the tree.

Black Friday and Cyber Weekend

Black Friday, the second most popular day for online shopping, brought even more excitement and positive year-over-year growth. Consumers were looking for all sorts of deals this year and used those savings to buy more! While AOV was down 5% on our network level, items purchased actually increased by 5%, showing that consumers were on the hunt for deals and used those savings to buy more.

The Rakuten Advertising network saw overall performance grow for many of our top retail categories, including beauty with orders increasing by 17% YoY and sales increasing by 10%. Similarly, we saw computers and electronics make a significant YoY jump, with orders increasing by 41% and sales increasing by 34%.

For Black Friday, toys and video games took the top spot, and consumers spared no expense. AOV increased by 51%, and item count increased by 84%; stellar deals led consumers to stock up and buy big for their toy and video game purchases. Jewelry was a close second, with orders up 53% and sales up 54%, proving that affiliate is an excellent channel for jewelry retailers of all sizes.

Additionally, we found that consumers prioritized their everyday goods on Black Friday, purchasing apparel, footwear, toys, and video games, as opposed to luxury goods, which spiked on Cyber Monday and into Giving Tuesday. On Black Friday, shoppers were looking for value this year, stocking up on their clothes, tasty treats, and other big-ticket items from big box retailers where they could grab a great deal and get gifts for all.

The grand finale: Cyber Monday

Cyber Monday marked the grand finale of Cyber Week and consumers’ online shopping extravaganza! The shoppers who were holding out for the best deals got their reward, as Cyber Monday hosted some of the highest and best deals of the entire week. Our US network felt this impact an increase in YoY sales.

For those consumers who waited for Cyber Monday, they were rewarded with more impactful offers than on Black Friday. Luxury was the standout for the brands on our network, surpassing last year’s sales and order numbers by 5% and 1%, respectively. This desire for luxury goods was also felt in department stores, with the category beating last year’s sales, order, and AOV metrics by 24%, 5%, and 18%, respectively. As for apparel, it appeared that the majority of shoppers had completed their clothing needs on Black Friday and over Cyber Weekend, with the category landing softly when compared to last year’s numbers.

Another standout on Cyber Monday includes travel and vacations. With a 7% increase in sales and a 14% increase in orders, consumers were booking big for flights, hotels, and excursions on Monday, between booking last-minute trips back home for the holidays or planning ahead for 2025!

Traditional holiday gifts also performed exceptionally well this Cyber Monday. Flowers and gifts saw a massive lift of 196% growth in sales and 110% growth in orders YoY, and jewelry continued to be a big driver of sales, generating 29% more sales this year compared to 2023.

As we recap Cyber Week 2024, we reflect on one constant: affiliate marketing and its many forms have created an e-commerce ecosystem that has allowed brands, publishers, and customers to thrive during peak holiday shopping periods. Our network of clients and partners continue to outperform and outdeliver as shoppers prove they are still willing to spend, as long as they can get a great promotion on everything on their wish list.

To see how this year’s Cyber 5 compared to our 2024 predictions, check out our blog featuring consumer data from 15,000 shoppers on their anticipated plans.