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Consumers spent a record-breaking $314.9 billion online globally during this year鈥檚 Cyber Five, according to Salesforce. But there鈥檚 lots more to learn beyond top-line sales numbers鈥攆rom Target's Taylor Swift-fueled Black Friday surge to Gen Z's big spending habits. Here are five key stats on Cyber Five performance you may have missed and what they mean for the rest of the holiday season.

Amazon, Target, and malls were among this year鈥檚 Cyber Five winners: Roughly 197 million people shopped this year鈥檚 sales, leading to a surge in online and in-store spending.

As retailers eye the end of the holiday shopping season, they must shift their strategies to cater to resolution-driven purchases in the new year.

Retailers try to rein in return fraud: Ecommerce鈥檚 growth this holiday season increases the pressure on retailers to combat fraud without pushing consumers away.

TikTok Shop gears up for busy holiday season in the US, UK: The platform expects hefty ecommerce and ad growth this year as shoppers get used to transacting on the app

Consumers turn to genAI to help with holiday shopping: Nearly one-fifth of global Cyber Five sales this year will be influenced by AI agents and other tools, Salesforce says.

Cybersecurity is a major issue for retailers this holiday season: A surge of transactions combined with over-extended, undertrained employees creates opportunities for fraudsters.

This could further propel BNPL volume this holiday season as well as catapult merchants鈥� holiday volume.

Although the Cyber Five will hit record ecommerce sales in the US this year at $41.43 billion, the retail event鈥檚 share of total retail ecommerce holiday season sales will continue to shrink, per our July 2024 forecast.

It鈥檚 a divergent retail environment: While Dick鈥檚 Sporting Goods and Abercrombie & Fitch expect shoppers to spend freely this holiday season, Best Buy鈥檚 sales were softer than expected.

Nordstrom gives its shopping app a genAI upgrade: The department store retailer hopes enhanced search and personalization capabilities will give it an edge this holiday season.

Gap鈥檚 momentum continues into the holiday season: Weather-related headwinds notwithstanding, the retailer鈥檚 brand reinvigoration efforts are resonating with shoppers and driving sales.

TJX鈥檚 value proposition won over shoppers of all ages and incomes in Q3: That momentum has carried over into Q4, putting the off-price retailer in pole position to benefit this holiday season.

TikTok Shop wants to be a holiday season shopping hub: The platform鈥檚 Brand Palooza campaign features steep discounts, an extended returns window, and TikTok Lives from celebrities, brands, and creators.

Attentive鈥檚 findings challenge SMS frequency fears: Holiday shoppers welcome more personalized, frequent messages, doubling retailer revenues with minimal opt-outs.

TikTok Shop is entering its second holiday season, when it will rely on big brands and livestream commerce to maintain the momentum it's gathered since launching a little over a year ago.

Only 23% of younger shoppers plan to spend less this holiday season: That鈥檚 down from 31% last year as Gen Zers and millennials are eager to pull out their wallets.

On today鈥檚 podcast episode, we discuss what the arrival of SearchGPT means for the search universe, the best ways to market through emotion, what the November holiday shopping season storyline will be, what happens now we have reached 鈥減eak media鈥�, the most suitable post-pandemic work arrangement, and more. Tune in to the discussion with Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Vice Presidents of Content Suzy Davidkhanian and Paul Verna, and Senior Analyst Blake Droesch.

Leisure travel demand ticks up ahead of the holiday season: Airbnb, Expedia, and Booking expect reservations to accelerate in Q4.

Amazon sellers rethink Prime Day participation: With tariffs wreaking havoc on their profits and ability to plan, merchants expect to reduce discounts or skip this year鈥檚 sale entirely.

Amazon Prime Day will be twice as long this year: The four-day sales event should boost sales and ad revenues, but growth will be hard to sustain long-term.