$6 Billion in 2 Days: Black Friday and Cyber Monday by the Numbers In 2016 businesses did $6.79 billion in sales. How will 2017 stack up?
By Brian J. Roberts Edited by Jessica Thomas
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
According to report published by Adobe Digital Insights, consumers spent a total of $6.79 billion on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, with Cyber Monday edging out Black Friday at $3.45 billion and $3.34 billion, respectively. Further research from Adobe showed that Black Friday in 2016 became the first day in retail history to surpass $1 billion in mobile sales.
While Adobe data is comprised of merchants of all sizes, enterprise level organizations aren't the only ones experiecing massive surges in sales. According to data released by Shopify, at their peak merchants selling on their platform generated $555,716 in just one minute on Cyber Monday last year. In terms of averages, store owners generated 3.6 times more orders on Black Friday, while Cyber Monday order volume increased 3.1 compared to an average sales day in November.
Related: The Best Black Friday Deals of 2017 From Amazon, Best Buy, Target and More
International companies are also experiecing surges in order volume.
Additional data provided by Shopify showed that, on Black Friday in Spain, store owners made 7.80 times more orders compared to average shopping days. Meanwhile, out in Denmark, their merchants experienced a 6.01 times more orders compared to average shopping days. Merchants in Ireland had a 4.69 times more orders.
Related: 10 Ways to Prepare for Small Business Saturday
While desktop shoppers spend more, overall, most spending is happening largely on mobile. According to a Goldman Sachs 2016 Holiday Retail Roadmap report "online will remain the winning channel--growing at more than three-times the rate of core retail sales this year--with mobile phone-based shopping increasingly gaining traction."
Another interesting fact: according to a 2016 Adobe Holiday Shopping Report, desktop conversion rates beat out mobile conversion rates. Big time. Desktop consumers converted at a 4.0 percent rate while mobile consumers only converted at a 1.9 percent rate. Despite lower conversion rates, Adobe found based on their survey of 500 consumers that 45 percent "plan to use their smartphone much than they did last year in terms of holiday shopping."
