Shoppers Don’t See ‘Black Friday’ Or ‘Cyber Monday’ — They See A Weekend Of Deals
Cyber Monday sales hit $9.4 billion this year, up 19.7% from 2018, topping the $7.4 billion sold on Black Friday, according to data from Adobe Analytics. However, Cyber Monday is actually becoming less distinct from Black Friday, which posted nearly identical 19.6% year-over-year growth. The merging of digital and omnichannel shopping is blurring the lines […]
Mobile Dominance: Smartphones Generate 61% Of Black Friday E-Commerce Traffic
Black Friday online sales reached a record $7.4 billion, up 19.6% from 2018, with the average order value (AOV) rising 5.9% to $168, according to data from Adobe Analytics. The shopping holiday was mobile’s biggest day ever, with 41.2% of sales coming from smartphones alone, an increase of 22.2% over 2018. Smartphones accounted for 61% […]
Amazon Pilots Temporary Warehouse Storage Service For Faster Holiday Deliveries
Amazon is testing a new inventory storage service, designed to help meet holiday demand and its next-day shipping commitment without overcrowding its warehouses or running out of products. The service, known as Amazon Storage and Replenishment, enables Amazon merchants to stage inventory in temporary locations close to Amazon’s delivery facilities so that products can be […]
Costco Thanksgiving Day Site Outages Cost An Estimated $11 Million
Costco’s e-Commerce site went down for more than 16 hours on Thanksgiving Day, according to outage tracking web site Down Detector. The outage impacted an estimated 2.65 million customers who were trying to access the web site, according to data from LovetheSales. The retail aggregate, which works with more than 1,000 retailers, estimated that the cost of […]
RSR Analyst: Many Sites Still ‘Abnormally Slow’ Ahead Of Holiday Rush
Industry predictions forecast that e-Commerce sales may rise between 14% and 18% this holiday season, with mobile playing a greater role than ever in consumers’ browsing and buying process. Although the signs point to a jolly holiday for retailers, inconsistent site performance and reliability may hurt their revenue potential, according to Steve Rowen, Managing Partner […]
Pinpointing The Site Performance Problem
Retail Systems Research has been a tried and true source for industry benchmarks and insights for more than a decade. E-Commerce trends and priorities have been ongoing topics of discussion for the firm, especially the recurring issue of performance. According to Steve Rowen, one of the firm’s managing partners, site speed has consistently been “disturbingly […]
Walmart Adds ‘Scan & Shop’ Capabilities To Holiday Print Toy Catalog
For its 2019 holiday toy catalog, Walmart has added a new feature enabling shoppers to scan and purchase the merchandise via the Walmart mobile app. The new digitized experience enables customers to scan and shop hundreds of toys, including more than 150 exclusives, through their iOS or Android devices. The “Scan & Shop powered by Digimarc” […]
How To Improve Your Small Business’s Black Friday Sales
When it comes to hot shopping days, it doesn’t get much hotter than Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Black Friday sales kick things off, and for business owners, it can seem like a 96-hour rollercoaster ride from Friday through Monday. While you don’t need to extend your sale more than just those two specific days, […]
Study: Expect Deep Holiday Promotions As Shoppers Seek Value, Seasonal Spending Shifts Earlier
Although 48% of shoppers say they search for a particular brand when they begin an online shopping journey, an even higher percentage (58%) of consumers named lower pricing as the top reason they buy online from a retailer other than Amazon, according to a study from Valassis. And when it comes to choosing an online […]
Holiday Outlook Update: Investigating The Impact Of Tariffs And Recession Threats
Political and economic forces have a resounding impact on consumer sentiment and ultimately, retail industry performance. But how will ongoing conflict between the U.S. and China, as well as an escalating election season, impact holiday spending? Most of all, is there anything that retailers can do to be proactive and come out of the season […]