Cyber Monday 2026: Date, Spending History and Scam Warnings
Cyber Monday falls on November 30, 2026. Adobe expects a record $15.1 billion in US online spending. Here is how the day compares with Black Friday and how to avoid holiday scams.
- Cyber Monday 2026 is Monday, November 30, the Monday after US Thanksgiving; Walmart's online event starts at 12:01 a.m. ET and runs to December 2.
- Adobe forecasts $15.1 billion in US online spending on Cyber Monday 2026, up 6.2% from a record $14.25 billion in 2025.
- The FTC, CISA and the UK's NCSC warn about fake delivery texts, look-alike shops and sellers who demand gift cards, transfers or crypto.
Cyber Monday 2026 is on Monday, November 30, 2026, the Monday after US Thanksgiving, and UK retailers use the same date. Online deals usually go live at midnight: Walmart's Cyber Monday event, for example, opens on Walmart.com at 12:01 a.m. ET (9:01 p.m. PT on Sunday, November 29) and runs through December 2.
Here is how Cyber Monday differs from Black Friday, how much Americans have spent online on the day each year, what forecasters expect for 2026, and the scam warnings official agencies want shoppers to read first. Figures are as of October 26, 2026.
When is Cyber Monday 2026?
The US Office of Personnel Management lists Thanksgiving as Thursday, November 26, 2026, so Black Friday falls on November 27 and Cyber Monday on November 30. Last year it landed on December 1. Adobe counts the five days from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday as "Cyber Week". Our Thanksgiving 2026 guide covers which stores are open on the Thursday that starts it.
So far only one major US retailer has published Cyber Monday dates. Walmart announced on October 26, 2026 that its Cyber Monday event runs from November 30 to December 2, online only. Amazon combined its 2025 Black Friday Week and Cyber Monday events into one window from November 20 to December 1, according to its 2025 announcement; it has not announced 2026 dates. For the full list of early sales and store hours, see our Black Friday 2026 guide.
How Cyber Monday differs from Black Friday
Black Friday began as an in-store event, and it is still the biggest day for crowds. Cyber Monday was invented for online shops. The National Retail Federation (NRF) introduced the name in a 2005 press release after noticing that online sales jumped on the Monday after Thanksgiving, NBC News reports. PYMNTS says the term arrived in a Shop.org press release and describes it as a marketing idea to bring Black Friday-style spending online.
Today the two days overlap heavily, but the data still shows a split:
- More people shop on Black Friday. The NRF counted 85.7 million online Black Friday shoppers in 2025 against 75.9 million on Cyber Monday. Black Friday also drew 80.3 million in-store shoppers.
- More money is spent online on Cyber Monday. Adobe recorded $14.25 billion of US online spending on Cyber Monday 2025, compared with $11.8 billion on Black Friday, according to its 2025 recap.
- Black Friday is catching up. Adobe says Black Friday has grown faster than Cyber Monday for two seasons in a row.
- Phones drive most of it. Adobe found 57.5% of Cyber Monday 2025 online sales came through mobile devices, worth $8.2 billion.
Measurement varies by source. Salesforce put US Cyber Monday 2025 sales at $13.6 billion and global online sales at $53 billion, using its own commerce data rather than Adobe's.
Cyber Monday online spending by year
Adobe Digital Insights, which analyses transactions on US retail sites, has tracked Cyber Monday for years. The day set a record $10.8 billion in 2020, beating 2019's $9.4 billion, Adobe reported. It then dipped to $10.7 billion in 2021, the first decline, because early deals spread spending across October and November, according to Adobe's 2021 report.
Growth resumed after that: $11.3 billion in 2022, $12.4 billion in 2023, $13.3 billion in 2024 and $14.25 billion in 2025, up 7.1%. Adobe said the 2025 total beat its own forecast and that spending peaked at $16 million a minute between 8 and 10 p.m.
Cyber Monday 2026 forecasts
Adobe's forecast, published September 28, 2026, expects:
- Cyber Monday: $15.1 billion online, up 6.2%, keeping it the biggest online shopping day of the year.
- Cyber Week: $47.5 billion, up 7.4%, or 17.3% of the season.
- Black Friday: $12.9 billion, up 9.2%.
- Buy now, pay later: $1.09 billion on Cyber Monday alone.
- Whole season (November 1 to December 31): $275.1 billion online, up 6.7%.
Adobe also expects traffic to retail sites from AI assistants to be 88% higher on Cyber Monday than a year earlier, and discounts to peak at up to 30% off list prices during Cyber Week.
The NRF looks at all retail, not just online. Its October 15 forecast expects November and December sales to rise 4.2% to about $1.013 trillion. In its October 20 survey, 53% of shoppers said they plan to buy online, making it the most popular destination.
Our take
Based on the forecasts above, Cyber Monday should stay the biggest online day in 2026, but its lead is shrinking. Adobe expects Black Friday to grow 9.2% this year against 6.2% for Cyber Monday, continuing a pattern it has reported for two seasons. With many retailers, including Walmart, now running multi-day events that start before Thanksgiving, the Monday works less like a one-day sale and more like the last big push of Cyber Week.
The calendar also helps shoppers this year. Because Cyber Monday falls on November 30 rather than December 1, there is a little more time between the sales and the carriers' December shipping cut-offs. Adobe expects discounts to ease to between 10% and 15% through December, so the gap between Cyber Week and later prices may matter more than the exact day you buy.
Scam warnings from official sources
Busy online shopping days draw fake shops, phishing emails and bogus delivery texts. This is general information; contact your bank or card issuer about your own account.
- Fake delivery texts. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) lists phony package delivery notices among common scam texts. It says not to click links in unexpected messages and to forward them to 7726 (SPAM). In the UK, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) also asks people to forward scam texts to 7726.
- Look-alike websites. The NCSC warns that fraudsters copy real shops, including logos, on addresses that differ slightly from the genuine one. Type the retailer's address yourself.
- Order confirmation emails. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) advises suspicion of emails asking you to confirm order or account details.
- Payment red flags. The FTC says to avoid sellers who want gift cards, wire transfers, payment apps or cryptocurrency, and to use a credit card where possible. The NCSC says never pay by bank transfer.
- Too-good-to-be-true offers. The UK police service Report Fraud warns that emails and texts about amazing offers may link to fake sites, and recommends two-factor authentication on accounts.
Report scams in the US at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, report to Report Fraud on 0300 123 2040 and call your bank immediately; the old Action Fraud web address now redirects to Report Fraud.
What to watch for
- Amazon's dates. Amazon has not yet said when its 2026 Black Friday and Cyber Monday events run.
- More retailer announcements. Target says it will post a Deal of the Day through December 24, but most chains have not named Cyber Monday plans.
- Adobe's actual figure. Adobe published its Cyber Monday 2025 total on December 2, 2025, the day after the event. If it keeps that timing, the 2026 figure would follow on December 1.
- Delivery cut-offs. If you buy gifts on Cyber Monday, check the carriers' Christmas 2026 shipping deadlines.
Frequently asked questions
What date is Cyber Monday 2026?
Cyber Monday 2026 is Monday, November 30, 2026, four days after Thanksgiving on November 26. UK retailers use the same date. In 2025 Cyber Monday fell on December 1.
What is the difference between Black Friday and Cyber Monday?
Black Friday started as an in-store shopping day and still draws the most shoppers, both in stores and online, according to NRF. Cyber Monday was named in 2005 to promote online shopping, and Adobe data shows it is still the day with the most US online spending.
How much was spent on Cyber Monday 2025?
Adobe recorded $14.25 billion in US online spending on Cyber Monday 2025, up 7.1% from 2024 and the biggest online shopping day on its records. Salesforce, using different data, put US Cyber Monday 2025 sales at $13.6 billion.
How much will be spent on Cyber Monday 2026?
Adobe forecasts $15.1 billion in US online spending on Cyber Monday 2026, up 6.2%. It expects $47.5 billion across Cyber Week, from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday. These are forecasts published on September 28, 2026.
How do I report a Cyber Monday scam?
In the US, report scams at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and forward scam texts to 7726. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, report to Report Fraud on 0300 123 2040 and contact your bank straight away.
Sources
- Federal Holidays, US Office of Personnel Management
- Adobe: U.S. Holiday Shopping Season to Hit Record $275.1 Billion Online, Rising 6.7% YoY, Adobe
- Adobe: Cyber Monday Hits Record $14.25 Billion in Online Spending, Adobe
- Cyber Monday Hits Record $13.3 Billion in Online Spending with Majority of Sales Driven by Mobile, Adobe
- Cyber Monday Surges to $12.4 Billion in Online Spending, Breaking E-Commerce Record, Adobe
- Adobe: Cyber Monday Drove $11.3 Billion in Online Spending, Breaking E-Commerce Record, Adobe
- Adobe: Consumers spent $10.7 billion on Cyber Monday, $109.8 billion so far this holiday season, Adobe
- A record-breaking Cyber Week 2020: Online shopping steals the show, Adobe
- Salesforce Data: AI and Agents Propel Cyber Week to Record $336.6B in Global Spend, Salesforce
- Thanksgiving Holiday Weekend Draws a Record 203 Million Shoppers, National Retail Federation
- NRF Forecasts 2026 Holiday Sales Growth as Consumers Remain Resilient, National Retail Federation
- Affordability Shapes Winter Holiday Shopping, According to NRF Holiday Survey, National Retail Federation
- Walmart Unwraps Three Major Holiday Shopping Events, Bringing Big Savings on Gifts and Seasonal Favorites, Walmart
- Target Makes it Easier for Guests to Discover Stylish Holiday Gifts They Can't Wait to Give, Target
- It's the Season for Savings: Amazon's Black Friday Week and Cyber Monday Deal Events (2025), Amazon
- Cyber Monday evolution: How the shopping holiday has changed, NBC News
- The History Of Cyber Monday, PYMNTS
- Online Shopping, Federal Trade Commission
- How To Recognize and Report Spam Text Messages, Federal Trade Commission
- Shopping Safely Online, CISA
- Shopping and paying safely online, National Cyber Security Centre
- Online shopping fraud, Report Fraud (City of London Police)
How we wrote this
GessyMorgan explainers are built from public reporting and official sources. This post draws on the 22 sources listed above, each linked where we use it. It was drafted with AI assistance and checked against those sources before publishing. We did not test products, attend events or interview anyone for this article. Facts are current as of October 26, 2026, and we update the post when they change.
