Canadian shoppers continued to show strength through Cyber Monday and into Cyber Week 2025, according to new Salesforce data shared with Retail Insider. Online spending increased throughout the final week of November, reflecting a value-driven consumer who remains active, responsive to promotions, and increasingly supported by AI-enabled discovery. Canada Cyber Week sales rose seven percent year over year, paired with a four percent increase in online order volumes.
Cyber Monday alone generated an estimated $668 million in Canadian online sales, which was a three percent increase over last year. Order volumes rose one percent, reinforcing that shopper demand is holding steady even as households remain cautious with discretionary spending. Canada Cyber Week sales also reflected shifting price dynamics, as the average selling price fell two percent, indicating that shoppers were deliberately targeting deeper discounts and leveraging retailers’ promotional strategies.
Consumers Focus on Value as Payment Trends Shift
Caila Schwartz, Director of Consumer Insights at Salesforce, said the numbers show a highly intentional consumer who is stretching budgets while still participating fully in the holiday season. She noted that the decrease in average selling price demonstrates the extent to which Canadians sought out promotions, using price-sensitive behaviour to maximize purchasing power. Schwartz said Canadian shoppers were “masters of the deal,” navigating the season with a high degree of discipline.
Payment methods continued to shift toward flexibility. Buy Now, Pay Later usage doubled to five percent during Cyber Week, up from two point five percent last year. On Cyber Monday specifically, BNPL reached four point two percent of transactions, doubling from last year’s level. Mobile wallet payments also edged upward, reaching eighteen percent during Cyber Week and seventeen percent on Cyber Monday. Traditional credit and debit card transactions continued to lose share, reflecting a broader trend across the early holiday season.
Mobile remained the dominant device for browsing and purchasing, although patterns shifted slightly. Mobile traffic share dipped to seventy three percent for the week and seventy two percent on Cyber Monday. At the same time, mobile order share rose to sixty three percent for Cyber Week and fifty nine percent on Cyber Monday, indicating that shoppers remain highly comfortable completing purchases on their phones even if browsing behavior continues to fragment across channels. Social traffic held steady at twelve percent for the week.
AI and Agentic Search Become a Major Revenue Driver
The most significant shift during Cyber Week was the scale of AI’s influence on Canadian purchasing. Salesforce reported that AI and agentic search influenced twenty one percent of all online orders placed in Canada during the week of November twenty fifth to December first. On Cyber Monday alone, AI- and agent-driven discovery played a central role in shaping browsing and buying behaviour.
Schwartz described this as a turning point for retail in Canada. She said that agentic search traffic quadrupled over the weekend compared to last year, indicating a rapid acceleration in how Canadians use AI to narrow choices, compare prices, and find value. She noted that AI’s influence translated directly into commercial impact, contributing to more than one fifth of online sales during the entire Cyber Week period. The performance aligns with the Black Friday trend where AI-referred traffic surged and outperformed social channels in conversion rate.
Giving Tuesday Highlights Pressure on the Nonprofit Sector
Cyber Week concluded as Giving Tuesday campaigns launched across the country. Salesforce said nonprofits are facing increasing operational strain due to funding pressures, burnout among staff, and rising demand for services. In response to those challenges, the company introduced four new AI agents for nonprofits to support administrative efficiency, donor engagement, and service delivery. The initiative adapts AI technology that has already shown measurable impact in retail and e-commerce throughout the early holiday season.
Looking Ahead to December Spending
Canada Cyber Week sales show that shoppers remain active and discount-driven heading into December. The week’s results reinforce a holiday season shaped by heightened value sensitivity, rapid adoption of flexible payments, and increasing reliance on AI-powered search tools. Retail Insider will continue to track Canadian retail performance as early December data becomes available and as the sector shifts toward its final peak period before the holidays.
