Cyber Monday Booms, But Beauty Rules Singles Day

Singles Day has eclipsed Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales totals.
Singles Day has eclipsed Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales totals.

Cyber Monday is a behemoth, but it has nothing on Singles Day, especially when it comes to beauty. And it's not only happening in China.

Cyber Monday surpassed Adobe's forecasts by $27 million, the firm has confirmed, totaling an all-time-high $3.39 billion, representing a 10.2% year-over-year increase. Many news outlets have suggested this day portends the future of holiday shopping as millennials tend to prefer online and mobile shopping over bricks and mortar-based events like Black Friday.

Notably, this event surpassed the online sales on Black Friday, which reportedly totaled $3.34 billion. Yet, Cyber Monday generated a bit less mobile revenue ($1.9 billion, a 48% year-over-year gain) than Black Friday.

"In general, we are seeing our customers interested in higher-end products."

The holiday shopping season between November 1 and November 28 is expected to drive a total of $39.9 billion in online revenue, a 7.4% year-over-year increase.

For context, however, China's Alibaba posted Singles Day sales of $17.8 billion, a 32% year-over-year gain. Dealmoon, which services U.S. Chinese consumers, partnered with more than 250 luxury brands and saw strong sales in cities like Atlanta and Chicago.

Dealmoon has reported that 61% of its Singles Day shoppers were Chinese American and that 54% of its sales were in the beauty category. Most Singles Day shoppers are millennials, aged 25-34.

"Our growth this year can best be expressed by saying that multiple retailers made over $2 million in sales this Singles' Day, which doubled sales records in 2015," said Jennifer Wang, CMO and co-founder of Dealmoon.com. "In general, we are seeing our customers interested in higher-end products. Instead of a $49 regular hair dryer, they are buying the newest $399 Dyson Supersonic hair dryer."

 

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