It’s truly the holiday season now and in this week’s Tech News Tuesday episode we’re taking a look at online shopping. More people are shopping online this holiday and not just on the big days of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. I’m sure some people still run out to the mall, but people are using their phones and computers more and more these days. If you are one of these people, you’re not alone!
We just saw Adobe’s Report on the shopping season that runs, according to them, between October 1st and November 28th, and consumers spent $180 billion in online sales, with 55% of that on the desktop and 45% from mobile devices. There were record breaking numbers on each of Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday shopping days as well. So far the season has also surpassed industry estimates. We’re unpacking some of these holiday shopping stats and talking about why it matters to you.
Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday were above expectations and saw record online shopping numbers.
Thanksgiving Day
On Thanksgiving Day, shoppers spent $5.3 billion online, and that’s up 2.9% over last year, and according to Salesforce, some 78% of those online sales were on mobile devices, up 8.3% over a year ago. This makes sense because a lot of people were not at home this Thanksgiving, and having your smartphone with you to shop while at Grandma’s house waiting for dinner was definitely a thing.
Black Friday
On Black Friday, online sales topped $9.1 billion dollars, and that was a record as up 3% from last year. 48% of all sales were made on smartphones versus 44% last year. Adobe said that toys, gaming and consumer electronics were the most popular categories for people seeking out deals and discounts on Black Friday.
Cyber Monday
Cyber Monday was the biggest shopping day according to the data, and also hit a record this year, with sales hitting $11.3 billion. That was up 5.3% over last year, and consumers spent $35.4 billion online over the five-day period, according to data from Adobe Analytics. The shopping season overall shows that 45% of us used a mobile device for a purchase.
45% of online purchases were mode on mobile devices, also setting a record.
Make it Easy to Do Business with You
The key part of the buyer’s journey is actually buying! And having an easy-to-use purchase process on a mobile device is crucial. Not only are people using their mobile devices for research, they’re actually doing transactions on their phone. So make sure you understand and have tried out how your purchase process works on a mobile device.
Capture some of those sales by making sure it is easy to do business with you on a mobile device!
There are opportunities there for additional conversion as well. Conversion, people actually making the purchase, remains higher on a desktop, so don’t leave money on the table. Mobile must be an integral part of your marketing strategy and customer experience, and this is not just for shopping websites, but all websites. Consumers are insisting that all the information they want is at their fingertips and that they can simply accomplish what they are looking to do.
