Cyber Monday 2016 Sales Expected To Top $3.36 Billion

There have been ten billion-dollar spending days on desktop through Black Friday this year, while last year at this point in the season only Thanksgiving and Black Friday had reached that threshold.

Within e-commerce, a key shift is continuing: some 28 million of those shoppers plan to shop Cyber Monday deals from their phones, continuing a trend that explains why the likes of Walmart, and have invested heavily in their mobile shopping apps. In rank order, it says Sony PS4, Fitit, Pokemon Sun/Moon, Xbox, Barbie, Lego, Amazon Echo, Google Home, Apple Watch, and of course, Frozen are leading the list. The top-grossing toys are Star Wars Lego sets, Razor electric scooters and DJI drones. Amazon said orders via its mobile app are on pace to surpass those from Cyber Monday a year ago.

Cyber Monday ends on Amazon at midnight. “While $1,299.99 70” Samsung UN70KU6300F 4K Ultra HD Smart TV comes with a free $250 Dell gift card.

These online-only deals follow earlier reports that Walmart and Target are taking on biggest online retailer Amazon, in hopes of cashing in on online shoppers that are increasingly growing every year.

To meet the high demand, the company hired an extra 120,000 employees for the holiday season, and increased its already massive inventory. The number of in-store transactions on Black Friday and Thanksgiving plunged by 8 percent.

Retailers have now realized the power of online marketing and subsequent sales. That leaves just 25 percent for largely in-store shopping. Wal-Mart and Target responded with their own deals on electronics and video games.

Local companies that sell stationary, socks, soccer gear, fashion apparel, hotel rooms and more posted heavy discounts on their goods from 15 to 50 percent off. Express and Hollister are also offering half off. The branded clothing stores might have up to fifty percent off clothes. A survey released Sunday by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics said 122 million shoppers in the United States are expected to shop online. Many stores matched their in-store blockbuster sales with online discounts on Thanksgiving and Black Friday.

This year, online retailers got a jump start on Cyber Monday, posting deals on Thanksgiving Day. One in 10 employers says they’ve fired a worker for shopping online at work.