Record Cyber Monday spending of $12 million a minute during peak shopping hours

 Cyber Monday sales hit a record $9.4 billion this year, with deal-seekers spending a whopping $12 million per minute during the so-called "golden hours of retail" that took place between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. Eastern time after Americans across the country had returned home from work. 

The online sales record represented a near 20% jump in spending from last year, according to data from Adobe Analytics. Much of Monday's shopping action was fueled by consumers purchasing more then $3 billion in goods through their smart phones, marking another sales record, Adobe reported. 

The 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. rush "shows that people wanted to grab deals before they expired — they might have seen deals they were browsing while at work and then they got home and pulled the trigger on purchases," said John Copeland, vice president of marketing and consumer insights at Adobe.

Some of the hot-ticket items this year includde the Nintendo Switch video game console and companion games such as Madden 20 and FIFA 20. Samsung TVs, Apple laptops and Amazon's Echo "smart" speakers also were top sellers, according to Adobe, adding that Nerf gear and toys from Disney's "Frozen 2" movie franchise also flew off shelves.

Some analysts attributed the increase in online spending to harsh winter weather across the U.S. The period between Cyber Monday and Christmas is also shorter this year, making for an abridged shopping season.  

"Retailers are pulling out all the stops given that the season is as short as it could possibly be," Copeland said. "They're even extending Monday sales into 'Giving Tuesday.' "

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Those retailers that gave consumers the ability to buy online and pick up in-store (or BOPIS, as the retail industry calls the option) fared better than those that don't.

Generally, consumers are 20% more likely to make purchases from retailers who offer "BOPIS," according to Adobe Analytics. And indeed on Cyber Monday, BOPIS retailers outperformed non-BOPIS retailers by 45%, the firm said.