Cyber Week 2024: An Inside Look at Performance Trends

Cyber Week 2024 proved to be a strong period for U.S. e-commerce, delivering an 11% year-over-year (YoY) increase in sales. Despite a compressed holiday shopping season, retailers effectively captured consumer demand, with Black Friday and Cyber Monday continuing to lead the charge. Grips Intelligence data sheds light on the key drivers of this year’s growth, standout categories and retailers, and evolving shopper behaviors.

Cyber Week sales climbed by 11% YoY in 2024, with Black Friday revenue up 12% and Cyber Monday revenue increasing by 10%. Cyber Monday narrowly edged out Black Friday as the biggest sales day of the week, generating $3.8 billion in revenue compared to Black Friday’s $3.7 billion.

Interestingly, the Sunday before Cyber Monday stood out as the fastest-growing day of the week, with a 15% YoY increase in revenue, as consumers capitalized on early deals to get ahead on their shopping lists.

While nearly every major category saw gains during Cyber Week, some experienced exceptional growth:

• Sporting Goods: Week-over-week sales surged by 68%, with standout performers including Scheels.com (+83%) and DicksSportingGoods.com (+67%).
• Beauty: Revenues jumped by 64% week-over-week, led by MACCosmetics.com (+99%) and DermStore.com (+96%).
• Apparel & Accessories: A 46% week-over-week increase was driven by Gap.com (+74%) and Nike.com (+47%).

Mass and marketplace sites like Amazon and Walmart continued to dominate, with Cyber Monday revenues outpacing Black Friday by 15%, underscoring their role as go-to destinations for late-season shoppers.

The performance of individual retailers during Cyber Week revealed two distinct strategies:

• Retailers with early promotions, like REI.com and Wayfair.com, spread their sales gains over a longer period. REI.com, for example, posted only a 12% week-over-week increase but a 39% rise over the four-week average, reflecting strong engagement in the weeks leading up to Cyber Week.
• Retailers concentrating their promotions during Cyber Week itself, such as Gap.com and MACCosmetics.com, saw sharper, more concentrated spikes. Gap’s 74% week-over-week increase compared to a 48% rise over the four-week average highlights the success of its Cyber Week campaigns.

These strategies highlight the importance of timing and tailored promotions in capturing consumer demand.

Platforms like Temu.com and Shein.com, known for their consistently low prices, saw less dramatic gains during Cyber Week. Temu’s 2% week-over-week decline and Shein’s 9% week-over-week growth suggest they aren’t top destinations for holiday deal hunters. Their modest week-over-average-week growth (24% for Temu and 29% for Shein) reflects broader seasonal shopping increases rather than a Cyber Week-specific surge. Much like eBay, their year-round low prices may reduce the urgency for shoppers to flock to these sites during major sales events.

The compressed holiday shopping season in 2024 created new challenges for retailers. With fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas, many launched early promotions to entice consumers. Grips data shows that e-commerce sales the week before Cyber Week rose 14% YoY, a sign that shoppers started their holiday spending earlier than usual.

Even so, Cyber Week delivered a 22% increase in sales compared to the prior week, with categories like Sporting Goods and Beauty far outpacing this benchmark. This strong performance demonstrates the enduring appeal of Black Friday and Cyber Monday for both retailers and consumers.

Grips Intelligence provides the insights you need to win in an increasingly competitive market. With daily revenue tracking, category performance analysis, and competitor benchmarking, Grips helps you make smarter, faster business decisions.

• Discover what’s driving your competitors’ success.
• Spot emerging trends in real time.
• Optimize your strategy to dominate major shopping events.

Book a demo today to see how Grips can transform your e-commerce strategy.