Adobe: Online sales will reach $2 Billion this Cyber Monday

SAN JOSE
November 19, 2012 8:08am

Cyber Monday 2012 online revenue for the retail sector is expected to reach $2 billion, growing by 18 percent year-over-year, according to a report Monday from software maker Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) of San Jose.

Adobe says its prediction is based on its analysis of more than 150 billion website visits to more than 500 Adobe retail customers over the past six years.

The company’s data analysis also predicts strong purchasing activity from mobile devices, with mobile representing 21 percent of total online sales this holiday, an increase of 110 percent over last year.

Cyber Monday (Nov. 26) is expected to be the biggest online shopping day of the year in the U.S., the company says.

Black Friday (Nov. 23) is expected to be the second largest online sales day of 2012 when retailers will see a sales increase of 12 percent, year-over-year, Adobe predicts.

While all retailers benefit from increased Cyber Monday traffic, so-called “Brick-and-Click” retailers are the segment expected to see the largest spike on Cyber Monday, bringing in nearly 540 percent more than what they do on an average day in 2012. Online-only retailers are expected to see a more modest sales increase of 210 percent this Cyber Monday compared to an average day throughout the year, says Adobe.

“Green Monday” (Dec. 10), the second Monday in December and also a high-grossing online sales day, is predicted to outpace Green Monday 2011 by 7 percent. The typical retailer can expect to see a sales increase of nearly 150 percent compared to an average day throughout the year, says Adobe.

So-called “Free Shipping Day” (Dec. 17), when thousands of merchants offer free shipping online with guaranteed delivery by Christmas Eve, is also expected to grow by 12 percent year-over-year, particularly since it falls on a Monday for the first time since its inception five years ago, the report says. Mondays historically are the busiest online shopping days of the week.

Mobile is expected to represent 21 percent of total online sales during the 2012 holiday season with sales from mobile devices projected to increase 110 percent this holiday season compared to last year, and sales from tablets constituting 13.5 percent of total sales, more than double that of smartphones (6.5 percent) and other devices such as e-readers (one percent), says Adobe.

On Black Friday, consumers are expected to use their tablets and phones to shop more than any other day of the year with 24 percent of online visits projected to come from mobile, it says.

Methodology notes

The algorithms used to create the predictive analysis are based on more than 150 billion online visits to over 500 retail websites in the U.S. and Europe over the past six years, Adobe says. The margin of error is 2 percent with a 90 percent confidence level and the forecast’s methodology and degree of accuracy has been evaluated and verified by b3Intelligence, an independent analytics and research service provider.