Weak discounts add to slow spending

Busy period: Customers at a retail store during Black Friday sales in New York. Big sale days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday have been gradually losing their prominence as shoppers spread their spending over longer periods — Reuters

NEW YORK: Lacklustre deals and scarce inventory kept Cyber Monday sales flat compared with a year ago, the latest indication that shoppers made purchases earlier in the season due to concerns about global shipping logjams.

The United States shoppers spent US$7.1bil (RM30bil) on Cyber Monday as of 9pm New York time yesterday, according to Adobe Inc.