In 2025, online sales beat expectations for retailers during Thanksgiving and the four days that follow, which together make up the Cyber 5.
Altogether, U.S. consumers spent $44.2 billion online during the five-day period, according to data and analysis from Adobe Analytics. The Cyber 5 also includes Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday. The results show Black Friday’s online relevance continuing to rise. As they did, Cyber Monday still continued to be the dominant day for digital sales. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence (AI) and buy now, pay later (BNPL) apps drove more activity than they did during the equivalent days in 2024.
The Cyber 5 got off to a strong start on Nov. 27 as Thanksgiving ecommerce sales alone reached $6.4 billion, Adobe data showed. That was up 5.3% year over year from Thanksgiving Day in 2024 and set a new record.
A day later, Black Friday online sales set their own new high. Sales increased 9.1% year over year to reach $11.8 billion. Consumers went on to spend another $11.8 billion online over Cyber Weekend. That activity included $5.8 billion spent on Small Business Saturday and $6 billion spent on Sunday, Nov. 30. Together, online sales rose 8.7% year over year to reach $11.8 billion. The total beat Adobe’s own forecast of $11.4 billion for the two days.
Then, on Cyber Monday, online sales achieved yet another record. They grew 7.1% to hit $14.25 billion. That was the most ever for U.S. ecommerce sales in a single day, Adobe data showed.
Adobe Analytics data is based on more than 1 trillion visits to U.S. retail sites, 100 million SKUs and 18 product categories, according to the company. 215 online retailers in the Top 2000 use Adobe Analytics for their web analytics, and 106 use it for site design and development. Top 1000 online retailers also use it for content delivery and management, as an ecommerce platform, a marketing platform, for personalization and more.
The Top 2000 is Digital Commerce 360’s database of North America’s largest online retailers based on annual ecommerce sales and more.
Cyber 5 online sales’ new all-time high
Cyber 5 ecommerce sales climbed in 2025. As they did, the ways in which shoppers searched and purchased continued to evolve as well. Notable drivers over the five days included social media and mobile device use. In addition, shoppers turned to BNPL for flexible payments and AI platforms for research, discovery and checkout.
On Cyber Monday alone, Adobe found that 3.6% of U.S. retail sites’ revenue was attributable to social media. That share was up 56.5% year over year, according to Adobe analysis. Meanwhile, the affiliates and partners category grew its share to 21.8% from 20.3% in 2024. That channel category includes social media influencers.
“U.S. retailers leaned heavily on discounts this holiday season to drive online demand. Competitive and persistent deals throughout Cyber Week pushed consumers to shop earlier, creating an environment where Black Friday now challenges the dominance of Cyber Monday,” said Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights. “Shoppers have also become increasingly savvy in finding the best deals and locating the right products, embracing generative AI-powered chat services and browser tools for the second season in a row.”
Following the Cyber 5, Adobe projects that online sales for the entire 2025 holiday season, which it identifies as Nov. 1 through Dec. 31, will rise by 5.3% year over year to reach $253.4 billion online.
How AI tools and agentic commerce helped Cyber 5 sales
Globally, data released by the cloud services and ecommerce platform provider Salesforce showed that 20% of all online orders during Cyber Week were associated with AI tools and AI agents. That activity on its own was worth $67 billion in sales. In the U.S. specifically, Salesforce found that AI and agents could be credited with 17% of all orders. That share was worth roughly $13.5 billion in sales.
“This Cyber Week data confirms a complete shift: AI agents are no longer just a cost-saving measure, but an incredible purchase and productivity accelerator in commerce. Influencing over 20% of all orders globally — accounting for an astounding $67 billion in sales — AI is driving revenue while simultaneously supercharging operations,” said Caila Schwartz, director of consumer insights at Salesforce. “The 70% spike in completed service tasks, like initiating returns and updating addresses, means agents are doing the heavy lifting, enabling brands with branded AI to grow 32% faster and deliver true business impact at scale.”
Salesforce defines Cyber Week as Cyber 5 plus the Tuesday and Wednesday that precede them. The company, which offers its own AI agent through its Agentforce Commerce services, found that retailers using their owned branded agents grew their sales 32% faster than those that lacked them during Cyber Week. In addition, Salesforce saw the number of agentic customer service conversations rise 55% from the previous week.
Elsewhere, Adobe identified a 670% rise year over year in AI-associated web traffic to U.S. retailers’ ecommerce sites on Cyber Monday. And by Cyber Monday, it reported that AI traffic to date for the holiday season that began on Nov. 1 was up 760% from a year earlier. It found that the most popular product categories for shoppers using these tools were video games, appliances, electronics, toys and personal care products.
BNPL use during Cyber 5
Online shoppers spent more during the Cyber 5. However, they also relied more on flexible payment methods to delay or split their obligations over time. Adobe data showed BNPL use surpassing $1 billion in one day for the first time on Cyber Monday. In total, BNPL purchases tracked by Adobe increased 4.2% year over year, reaching $1.03 billion. The company’s November survey results showed that U.S. consumers were most likely to use BNPL options when buying electronics, apparel, toys and furniture.
Increasing BNPL reliance was also reflected in numbers shared by the BNPL providers Adyen and Afterpay, which is owned by Block. Adyen observed BNPL use grow by 4% year over year on Black Friday. Moreover, its transaction values were on average 3.24% higher than they were a year before, the company reported. Meanwhile, Afterpay saw basket sizes for the purchases it enabled over the Black Friday and the weekend after grow 10% year over year.
Share of Cyber 5 online sales
While Cyber Monday retained its status as the having largest share of online sales over the course of the Cyber 5 in 2025, it continued to lose share for a second year in a row. Based on Adobe’s data, Cyber Monday ecommerce sales made up 32.2% of the five-day period’s totals. That was down from 32.4% in 2024 and 32.8% in 2023.
As Cyber Monday’s share shrank, Black Friday and Small Business Saturday made gains. Black Friday increased its Cyber 5 share to 26.7% from 26.3% in 2024. As it did, Small Business Saturday grew its share to 13.1% from 12.9% a year ago.
Sunday’s share remained steady year over year at 13.6%, while Thanksgiving fell to 14.5% from 14.8% in 2024.
Total active shoppers hits all-time high
After receding in 2024, shoppers returned in force for the Cyber 5 in 2025. The National Retail Federation tallied a record-high 202.9 million shoppers who were active online and in physical stores during the latest Cyber 5.
Black Friday is the busiest day by shopper volume, both online and in stores. However, both totals declined as the NRF counted 85.7 million and 80.3 million, respectively, that day. That’s down from 87.3 million and 81.7 million in 2024.
Nevertheless, the NRF saw an online surge on Sunday when 38.7 million shoppers were seen active. That was up from 32.8 million on the corresponding Sunday a year ago. Cyber Monday also grew its cohort of online shoppers, which swelled to 75.9 million from 64.4 million a year earlier.
“Thanksgiving weekend is an important time for families and friends to come together, and holiday shopping plays a key role in that shared experience,” said Matthew Shay, president and CEO at the NRF. “This year’s record turnout reflects a highly engaged consumer who is focused on value, responds to compelling promotions, and seizes upon the opportunity to make the winter holidays special and meaningful.”
Click here to read last year’s update on Cyber 5 ecommerce sales.
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