Thanksgiving generated the greatest year-over-year growth in terms of online purchasers in the U.S., data from Criteo shows.

Shoppers did most of their Cyber Monday buying toward the end of the day.

Sales peaked between 9-10 p.m. Eastern on Cyber Monday, with the 8 p.m. to midnight period being the busiest for overall purchasing, according to a just-released report from advertising technology vendor Criteo S.A., which analyzed millions of transactions completed on retail sites in the U.S.

Criteo’s data shows that during the five-day stretch from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, Thanksgiving experienced the greatest year-over-year gain (25%) in online purchasers in the U.S., compared with a 13.4% gain on Cyber Monday.

Shoppers also put more items in their online shopping carts on Thanksgiving than they did on Cyber Monday. Here’s a look at the average order value breakdown from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday (Nov. 23-27), according to Criteo:

  • Thanksgiving: $180
  • Black Friday: $168
  • Saturday: $151
  • Sunday: $145
  • Cyber Monday: $149
  • Five-day average: $158.60

Meanwhile, Criteo’s data shows that shoppers in the U.S. were much more likely to buy on their desktop computers on Cyber Monday (58%) as they were on their smartphones (33%). The remaining 9% of shopping was done on tablets. Cyber Monday’s average order value on desktop ($158) outpaced that on smartphones ($131).

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Purchasing completed on smartphones (44%) nearly pulled even with purchases completed on desktop computers (45%) on Thanksgiving, the only day so far in November when the ratio has been so close.

“Shoppers were at work [on Cyber Monday],” Criteo says, explaining why significantly more purchasing happened on desktops on Cyber Monday compared with Thanksgiving. “In contrast, Thanksgiving Day, when they were with friends and family, and likely not near a computer, they were more likely to buy on their phones.”

Data from Adobe Systems Inc. shows that shoppers spent a total of $6.59 billion online on Cyber Monday in the U.S., up 16.8% from $5.65 billion last year (numbers are rounded). Smartphones accounted for a record $1.40 billion in revenue, or 21.2% of online sales on Cyber Monday.

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