Ka-Ching: Cyber Monday Caps Off Big Cash Haul for Retailers
U.S. retailers are killing it just five days into the holiday shopping season, racking up the best Cyber Monday ever.
Consumers spent $3.45 billion online, according to Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) Digital Insights, a 12% jump from last season. Shoppers surfed for in-demand items such as Sony’s (NYSE:SNY) Playstation 4 and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPads. They were also hungry for deals on items such as televisions, which are selling at a 21.5% discount, the steepest price cut in cyber land. Walmart (NYSE:WMT) tells FOXBusiness.com it saw a record number of online visitors seeking popular items including Samsung's 55' Smart LED HDTV and Barbie's Dreamhouse made by Mattel (NYSE:MAT).
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), the world’s largest retailer, said it sold 2 million toys during the first half of Cyber Monday, shattering records for the e-commerce giant. Eager spenders snapped up items including Hasbro’s (NYSE:HAS) Pie Face Game, the best-selling toy.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMZN | AMAZON.COM INC. | 174.63 | -4.59 | -2.56% |
| WMT | WALMART INC. | 59.52 | +0.28 | +0.46% |
| HAS | HASBRO INC. | 55.27 | +0.33 | +0.60% |
| MAT | MATTEL INC. | 18.05 | -0.12 | -0.66% |
| AAPL | APPLE INC. | 165.00 | -2.04 | -1.22% |
While more shoppers turn to the internet for gifts, UPS (NYSE:UPS) and FedEx (NYSE:FDX) are racing to keep up with the onslaught of packages during the busy holiday season.
A UPS spokesperson told FOXBusiness.com that package volume during Black Friday and Cyber Weekend was in line with the delivery giant’s forecast for the season, which calls for a 14% increase versus last year’s shipments between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
On Cyber Monday, UPS CEO David Abney told the FOX Business Network’s “Varney & Co.†that UPS is “very confident†in its ability to deliver packages on time. According to Abney, e-commerce accounts for half of UPS’s business during the holiday season.
FedEx also anticipates another record holiday season, predicting that each of the four Mondays will be among the busiest in company history. Earlier this month, FedEx offered a rough estimate for 10% growth in holiday volume year-over-year. Earlier this month, FedEx offered a rough estimate for 10% growth in holiday volume year-over-year.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FDX | FEDEX CORP. | 266.99 | +3.63 | +1.38% |
| UPS | UNITED PARCEL SERVICE INC. | 142.78 | +0.10 | +0.07% |
Last year, three Mondays during the holiday season averaged more than 25 million packages, more than double FedEx’s normal daily volume.
“The rapid growth of e-commerce has driven significant shifts in demand over the last several years, and we are confident we are prepared to deliver another successful holiday for our customers due to our significant investment in our people, facilities, aircraft and technology,†FedEx said.
FedEx and UPS are adding 50,000 and 95,000 seasonal workers, respectively, to help handle the holiday rush.
So far this month consumers have spent nearly $40 billion shopping online, according to Adobe, and that number is likely to rise in the coming weeks as confidence in the economy increases.
In fact, Americans haven’t felt this good since 2007. The latest Consumer Confidence index rose to 107.1 for the month of November, as reported by The Conference Board.
The run-up in U.S. stocks may also be fueling the urge to splurge. The S&P 500 has rallied nearly 4% since Donald Trump won the election and the Russell 2000, which tracks smaller, largely U.S.-based companies, has gained 11%. The President-elect is “making markets great again,†quipped Peter Kiernan, former Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) partner, during an appearance on “Varney & Co.â€