Cyber Monday stories

Holiday refunds jumped 18.1% in 2025, with each USD $1 million in refunds costing retailers about USD $1.3 million once overheads are included.

Amazon, Temu and Shein are forcing Australian retailers to speed up delivery, fix fulfilment bottlenecks and rethink toughened returns.

THE ICONIC expands Datadog observability across AWS microservices to keep Black Friday traffic spikes and checkouts running smoothly.

Scurri processes 180m shipments in 2025 as eCommerce GMV hits EUR €19.2bn and its platform annualises at over 200m parcels into 2026.

UK shoppers spent a record GBP £26.9bn online over Christmas 2025, as mobile purchases surged and AI-driven referrals leapt from 2024.

Chargebacks surge after record online holiday sales, with USD $181 billion in returns putting retailers’ first-quarter profits at risk.

Klaviyo forecasts 2026 surge in AI voice shopping, automated returns and connected-device purchases reshaping how consumers buy.

Fulfilmentcrowd posts record global peak-day growth as EU orders jump 28% on Cyber Monday and US volumes soar up to 80% on Black Friday.

Criteo says agentic AI will add a powerful new eCommerce layer, reshaping search, retail assistants and LLM ad models without replacing shops.

Blue Yonder rolls out fresh AI tools to tighten retail planning, boost fulfilment accuracy and speed up warehouse and logistics decisions.

Black Friday still delivered the peak online surge, but AI-driven search stretched shopping demand across a longer November window.

US holiday online sales hit a record USD $257.8 billion as shoppers shifted to mobiles, Buy Now Pay Later and generative AI search tools.

Black Friday splurge triggers record December returns surge as ReBound warns rapid send-backs are straining retailers’ peak operations.

AI agents, circular retail and tighter rules will upend shopping by 2026, Akeneo warns, as poor product data threatens brand visibility.

Cyber Monday online orders in the UK surged, running about 70% higher than Black Friday as shoppers held out for last-minute deals.

AI is transforming loyalty from points to real-time, personalised journeys as super apps and agentic engagement engines rapidly take hold.

Australians are reshaping Boxing Day, prioritising essentials, thrift and online safety over impulse spending amid cost-of-living strain.

Social media fuelled a Black Friday boom in the UK, as Rithum data showed global social sales soaring 152% and online spend up 27%.

Record Black Friday online sales risk hollowing out profits as soaring returns, refunds and BNPL queries squeeze retailers’ margins.

AI now underpins most UK Christmas campaigns, as 78% of marketers use it to deliver more personalised festive ads amid rising consumer demands.