What Yottaa Data Reveals About the 2024 Cyber 5

The Cyber 5 shopping period— from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday—continues to be a cornerstone of holiday retail. Despite a slight dip in the number of U.S. shoppers participating this year, spending hit record highs and average spending on gifts increased over last year.

According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), 197 million shoppers took part in Cyber 5 sales, just below last year’s 200.4 million. However these shoppers made a larger impact over last year when considering purchase price, spending an average of $235 on gifts—$8 more than 2023’s per-shopper average.

Overall online sales exceeded initial expectations. Adobe predicted Cyber Week would generate $40.6 billion in online spend, a 7% year-over-year increase. The reality exceeded even these forecasts, with actual spending reaching an impressive $41.1 billion.

In this post, we’ll dive deeper into what Yottaa data revealed about shopping trends during the Cyber 5 holiday season, and share some key takeaways.

The 2024 Cyber Five: Four Key Insights From Yottaa Data

1. Shopper Traffic and Conversions Were Expectedly Higher Through BFCM Weekend – Comparing the Cyber 5 days to the previous 5 days, there were 35% more shopping sessions across Yottaa eCommerce sites. Notably, the conversion rate during those five days increased by 38% overall. The chart below shows this increased conversion rate by mobile and desktop:
   Notably, while mobile sessions made up the bulk of traffic, desktop sessions continued to convert at a higher rate. This reinforces the importance of maintaining performance consistency across all devices.
2. Buyers Have Less Patience for Page Load Time, YoY – When we look at the page load times among shoppers across all eCommerce sites using Yottaa, it’s clear that the expectations for page load times are getting shorter each year. Converted shoppers – meaning those who ultimately made a purchase during their session – experienced an average load time of 3.1 seconds during the Cyber 5 this year. A decidedly 21% faster than just 2 years prior, and 12% faster than last year’s season.This trend highlights the growing expectation for near-instant loading, especially during high-stakes shopping periods.
   
3. 6% More Cyber 5 Sessions Came from Mobile Devices This Year – Overall, 81% of all the sessions we observed in 2024 came from mobile devices. Shoppers used their mobile devices slightly more during the Cyber 5, compared to the previous 5 days (79% vs. 81%). While shoppers browsed more frequently on mobile, the 79% share in the previous five days suggests a consistent reliance on mobile for initial engagement.
   In 2023, 75% of all the sessions we observed during the Cyber 5 came from mobile devices, and there was a greater disparity between the five previous days, with only 69% of traffic coming from mobile:
4. Conversion Rates Were Higher from Desktop Sessions – Even as mobile sessions dominate traffic, shoppers still rely on desktop to finalize their purchases. Desktop sessions had a higher conversion rate compared to mobile, indicating that while people are comfortable browsing on smaller screens, many turn to desktop for more complex tasks like checkout or finalizing decisions.
   

Key Takeaways 

The Cyber 5 trends from Yottaa data, NRF, Adobe and more reveal that success lies in delivering a fast, reliable, and engaging shopping experience across devices. Retailers and brands must prioritize mobile optimization to capitalize on its growing traffic share while ensuring desktops remain seamless to support higher-value conversions.