Mobile Purchases See Double-Digit Growth On Cyber Monday

Online retailers have just as much as traditional retailers to cheer about given Cyber Monday appears to be turning out to be a big hit with consumers, and they may have mobile to thank.

According to early data from PayPal, Cyber Monday sales saw double-digit growth in terms of payment volume on mobile devices during the first eight hours of the sale. Based on its data, PayPal found auto parts, fashion and electronics are expected to drive holiday sales. What’s more, Cyber Monday is trending toward being PayPal’s biggest shopping day of the year. That’s for the second year in a row, the payment company said in a blog post.

PayPal said the use of mobile devices wasn’t only reserved for Cyber Monday. PayPal found that, both on Thanksgiving and Black Friday, purchases made via mobile devices were a third of all total payment volume. “The data trends PayPal has seen this year highlight Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday as major shopping moments for shoppers globally,” wrote PayPal. “That said, these tent-pole holiday moments are experiencing a flux in what has been traditional trends throughout the months of November and December. While these tent-pole moments will continue to exist, the “graying” of Black Friday continues and Cyber Monday has turned to Cyber Month, as shoppers increasingly turn to mobile devices during each day of the shopping season.”

The good news out of PayPal wasn’t the only positive data point for this holiday shopping season. Adobe reported that Black Friday sales online surpassed the $3 billion mark for the first time ever this past weekend. Adobe measured online transactions and also found that the strong showing during Black Friday was buoyed by a record $1.1 billion in sales of smartphones and tablets.