Gaming fans continue to drive a significant chunk of online spending through the gift-giving holidays, and Sony and Microsoft are both benefitting from that.
Sony’s PlayStation 4 was the best-selling consumer electronics product online on Cyber Monday, according to data-tracking firm Adobe Digital Insights. Cyber Monday is the first Monday after Thanksgiving, and it is one of the biggest days of the year for online shopping as people spend their lunch breaks looking for deals on Amazon, Walmart.com, and elsewhere.
Coming in right behind the PS4 was Microsoft’s Xbox One as the No. 2 best-selling piece of electronics. Together, the two consoles outperformed Samsung 4K televisions, Apple iPads, and Amazon’s Fire products. Xbox One actually outsold the PlayStation 4 online on Black Friday, according to Adobe, but Sony’s console is still ahead for the entire month of November in the U.S. That is due to Sony debuting the PlayStation 4 Pro, which is a 4K-capable version of its console.
The back-and-forth performance for these two systems is one of the major reasons retailers are generating so much revenue at the start of the shopping season.
“Cyber Monday is on track to be the biggest online shopping day ever, surpassing our forecast by almost $27 million, or 0.8 percent,” Adobe Digital Insights director and analyst Tamara Gaffney said in a statement. “This indicates that consumers still had more appetite for online shopping despite the incredible volume of online sales on Black Friday. Prices are expected to start climbing after today as retailers shift attention to extend the season late into December with quick shipping deals and the option to click and collect in store.”
As for games, Pokémon Sun and Moon continue to lead on Nintendo’s 3DS handheld. The previous entries in the Pokémon series have always sold well, but with these titles outselling Call of Duty and every other fall release, it seems apparent that the summer hit Pokémon Go has led to a significant re-energization of that franchise’s fan base.