At this very moment, retail executives around the US are likely screaming about their Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales performance. For some, these sounds resemble a triumphant war chant, for others, these are the shrill cries of defeat. The reason? Mobile-first adoption.
No matter where you stand, this data changes the eCommerce landscape. Here are the latest stats and key trends from the long-weekend of holiday sales events. We will update this article as soon as new data is released, so make sure you subscribe to be the first to know!
Thanksgiving Takes an Extra Helping
On Thanksgiving day, as of 7:00am Pacific Time, U.S. consumers spent $406 million. By 2pm, Adobe announced that this number skyrocketed to a whopping $1.75 billion, representing a 23% increase over sales in the same time period in 2017. By the end of the day, Americans beat out last year’s sales for the day by a shocking 28%, resulting in a shocking 3.7 billion dollar Thanksgiving. Adobe initially projected a $3.1B bottom line for the holiday.
Mobile Wins Big
Here’s a quick breakdown of the major events in bite-size chunks:
Thanksgiving Day
“Mobile stole the show Thanksgiving Day with smartphones representing more than 50% of traffic to retail sites, as well as record amount of revenue,” <span class="su-quote-cite"><a href="https://techcrunch-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/techcrunch.com/2018/11/22/thanksgiving-eCommerce-spend/amp/?amp_js_v=0.1#referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&_tf=From%20%251%24s&share=https%3A%2F%2Ftechcrunch.com%2F2018%2F11%2F22%2Fthanksgiving-eCommerce-spend%2F" target="_blank">Taylor Schreiner, Director of Adobe Digital Insights</a></span>
Black Friday
$2.1 billion or 33.5% of sales came from smartphones this Black Friday. Another 10% of sales, or roughly $627 million, came from tablet users. All in all, the day yielded an impressive $6.2 billion, a 23.6% increase over 2018.
Cyber Monday Breaks The Internet
Here’s the big one. Cyber Monday sales shattered all previous records for online sales… in U.S. history.
“Cyber Monday [topped] $7.9 billion by the end of the day, making it the largest online shopping day of all time in the U.S. This represents a 19.7 percent increase year-over-year (YoY) as of 7:00 p.m. ET. In comparison, Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday brought in $3.7 billion (28 percent growth YoY) and $6.2 billion (23.6 percent growth YoY) in revenue, respectively.”<span class="su-quote-cite"><a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181126005829/en/Adobe-Analytics-Data-Shows-Cyber-Monday-Broke" target="_blank">BusinessWire</a></span>
Here’s the share of devices (as of ~1:30pm ET November 27, 2018):
Additionally, Adobe’s latest report notes that this November has seen 7 days where total sales broke the $2 billion mark (as of Nov. 28, 2018)… Thanks in no small part to the mobile sales spikes.
Omnichannel Adoption Drives Sales
The trend of “buy online, pick-up in-store (BOPIS)” continued, with the trend growing 50% during this past weekend over 2018. According to Adobe, this spells dollar signs for omnichannel merchants: “As the online and offline retail experience continues to blend, retailers with physical stores drove 28 percent higher conversions online.” While this trend helped retailers increase their share of online earnings, in-store sales lagged far behind.
It’s time to join the mobile-first movement. As Adam Morris, Redstage CEO notes, “Cusotmers are no longer expecting an in-store Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but instead, an omnichannel experience.” While many retailers successfully ramped up their omnichannel strategies for this holiday, the data shows this trend is here to stay, and more work is needed.
If you want to reduce mobile checkout friction before the holidays are over, contact us asap! To see the results we’ve achieved with our recently launched Magento Community Initiative, find the latest data here.
Final Thoughts
These extravagant stats spell success for an industry racing to close the mcommerce gap. It’s seems the industry is all-aboard the mobile-first customer experience wave. As Internet Retailing points out, retailers may have finally reached ‘always-on‘ mobile consumers. Now it looks like the key areas for improvement are streamlining mobile checkouts, and optimizing omnichannel experiences.
For the first time in PayPal history, mobile payment volume topped $1 billion, and did so on both Black Friday (November 23) and Cyber Monday (November 26). – PAYMNTS
Adobe reports U.S. shopping carts averaged $138.00 during Cyber Monday, a 6% bump over last year.
49% of Black Friday traffic came from smartphones, driving 30% of online sales.
“In the [PYMNTS] Checkout Conversion Index report, the 30 merchants with the fastest, most streamlined online checkouts ranked well. Conversely, the 30 merchants with the lowest scores offer a widely inconsistent checkout experience…”
Our partners at BigCommerce identified a few additional trends in their Cyberweek 2018 Trends Report. Key findings include:
While online stores continue to have the highest AOV for any sales channel, Facebook took second place, accounting for “70% of total GMV” for Fashion and Jewelry brands using the channel. Home and Garden brands selling on Facebook came in at 16% GMV.
“The Fashion & Jewelry and Toys & Games verticals saw the highest GMV increases over 2017.
This week, Eric Dye of the Entrepreneur Podcast Network interviewed Redstage CEO Adam Morris on the coming B2B eCommerce revolution. In this episode, the pair discuss the latest trends, market news, and strategies for companies who “NEED” to adapt to the new standards of digital commerce. Click play above to listen now or follow the link at the bottom to download the podcast. Happy listening!
Insights included in this entrepreneur interview:
1. “What does the B2B eCommerce market look like and why is B2B super hot right now?”
2.“How is B2B eCommerce different from traditional online retail?”
3.“What are the main roadblocks for companies going digital?”
Don’t forget to check out the ePodcast Network for more entrepreneur insights!
About Adam Morris
As a digital entrepreneur, Adam Morris has been working alongside Anthony Latona (Redstage’s CMO) since their university days. The duo co-founded several businesses together over the years, most recently Redstage, which started in 2008. As Morris recalls, “All of our businesses revolved around online commerce, and we’ve had a knack for being ahead of the Internet business curve. Redstage is an eCommerce agency that specializes in web design, development, strategy and support for B2B and B2C clients all over the world. As part of the Fulcrum Family of companies, we have over 700 employees on 5 continents. For the past 10 years we’ve been transforming companies through eCommerce, now focusing primarily on Magento and Shopify. With B2B eCommerce set to explode before the end of the decade, we’re ready to take on the biggest challenges facing the world’s largest companies – especially when it comes to tackling the transition to digital, something we’re quite good at.”
If you enjoyed this podcast, check out this post on MagePlaza about our developers’ biggest “B2B Pet Peeves” (the top 4 signs that a B2B site needs to upgrade).
The past decade brought many changes into the world of eCommerce, and one of the most prominent is certainly the key role social media now plays. It’s where companies promote their products and interact with potential customers, raise their brand awareness, and increase conversion rates. While Facebook is still the number one social media platform, Instagram has experienced enormous growth in the past two years and continues to grow every day, transforming it into a more-than-ideal tool for eCommerce businesses to expand their reach and get their names out.
As is the case with all other sites, you first have to learn a thing or two about how it all functions and what the users’ expectations are, but once you’ve learned the ropes, you can reap great benefits. Here are some useful tips on how to boost your sales using Instagram.
First steps
If you haven’t switched to a business account yet, you should do it right now. This feature presents numerous opportunities for large and small businesses alike. Not only does the biz account give potential customers a one-click “contact us” button, it also grants access to various analytics tools that will offer valuable insights into your engagement rate, impressions and your followers. This way, you’ll be able to track what’s working and what’s not, and change your approaches accordingly. You can also easily (paid)promote any posts you like, which has shown to work rather effectively for eCommerce businesses.
Get people to your store
When it comes to promoting your products, the problem with Instagram is that you still can’t put clickable links in your photo descriptions. In the past, retailers got around this issue by adding a link to their online store in the profile description; however, in doing this, customers are directed to your homepage (rather than a specific product page) where they may need to spend considerable time to find the product they saw on your Instagram.
However, new solutions have been developed to overcome this issue. One of Instagram’s newest features gives businesses the ability to tag products within posts. When clicked, the tags lead customers directly to the product page of your site so they can shop seamlessly. This feature is already available in many countries; all you need to do is get verified as an eCommerce account by Instagram (video), and soon, expect your online shop visits to skyrocket. If for any reason you can’t take advantage of this feature, there are similar alternatives that can make your feed shoppable.
Keep the quality high
If the content you post isn’t high quality, the sum of your efforts will be in vain. Instagram is a visual-oriented platform. As a result, you must put great care into the content you post. Make sure your photos match the standard resolution (1080 x 1080) to prevent compromising photo quality.
When it comes to showcasing your products, you should mix up high-quality flat-lay images, single product close-ups and photos/videos showing your products in use – focus on providing ample variety in the content you post. At the same time, also make sure your feed is neat and appealing. It’s suggested that retailers turn to professional photographers for best results. In addition, you should never exclusively post pictures of your products – hard selling is never an effective method. Rather, you should think about using branded imagery to showcase your brand.
Moreover, the key to building an effective social media channel is consistency. If you’re not posting consistently, your followers will get bored and leave, and you’ll wonder why you’re not seeing a return. For this purpose, scheduling applications come in handy. You can prepare your posts weeks in advance and schedule them to go live whenever you like. To decide what time you should post at, take into consideration your target audience’s time zones as well as general habits. Use your analytics to determine your optimal time to post, and try a variety of hashtags to boost your post reach.
Take advantage of hashtags
While it’s always better to outsource keyword research for your eCommerce website to an SEO agency, you can easily find the most effective hashtags to use on Instagram yourself. Take advantage of websites that keep track of each day’s most popular hashtags, and use them will multiply your posts’ visibility. In addition, learn what hashtags your competitors use, as this is a cheap but effective way to fight competition.
Be aware that you can use up to 30 hashtags in a post and you can either put them in the description or the comment section. Mix up your hashtags from time to time to prevent Instagram from misidentifying your posts as spam. It’s also useful to create a specific hashtag that only your business will use, which will help users browse your products on Instagram easily.
Be approachable
The main goal of any Instagram endeavor is generating engagement. The more engagement you can create, the more your account will grow, leading to a bigger reach, more brand exposure, and an increase in sales. Of course, the most important thing of all is that you are present. This means that it’s not enough just to schedule your posts and check on your Instagram once a week. You should be interacting with your audience every day in order to create a friendly and approachable image that will benefit your brand. Like and reply to comments under your posts, answer questions and be professional when it comes to resolving conflicts.
You can also take your interaction to the next level with a couple of methods that many businesses employ nowadays. First of all, you can write your photo descriptions in such a way that encourages commenting (for example: asking a question or encouraging people to tag their friends). Moreover, you should also track product pictures posted by your customers.
User-generated content is insanely powerful for attracting new customers, as people viewing your product for the first time are more likely to trust their friends and family than a business they’ve never bought from (think of it as digital word-of-mouth). Don’t forget to like and re-post some UGC content from time to time, just make sure you ask the customers permission to use their likeness first. This will show your customers that you care and they will be more likely to shop from you in the future as well. When you find this content, you can quickly add it to your company’s Instagram Story, generating double the content off a single post. Think about how you can build user engagement by running photo contests and adding “Who wore it best?” to your company’s Instagram Story… there’s a lot of potential there.
More promotion
To further promote your brand, one very effective method is reaching out to influencers. Some charge more than others for promotions, while others will swap shout-outs or mentions in return for your page doing the same. Another way to score placement on an influencer’s feed is by giving them some free merch to try out.
Send them some of your products and their followers will be made aware of your existence. The most important thing to pay attention to here is that you choose your influencers wisely – they have to be related to your niche so that their followers are more likely to be interested in your product.
Remember, everyone loves free stuff, not just influencers. Try to organize giveaways when you reach follower milestones like 10K, 50K, 100K followers, etc. Just make sure you comply with all the rules of hosting such events. You can also reward your followers by occasionally sharing discount codes to some of your products – this is a surefire way to convert more leads and show your top followers you care!
Final Thoughts
As you can see, the opportunities Instagram provides for eCommerce businesses are numerous. If used properly, they can give a massive boost to your sales. However, Instagram is just one of the many platforms you can use. For example, websites such as Pinterest can also give a boost to your eCommerce sales, but of course, different rules will apply there. That’s why it’s important that you get informed about the basics before you jump into it.
Guest Author Bio:
David Koller is a passionate blogger and copywriter for Media Gurus, mainly interested in SEO and Digital Marketing.
Earlier this month, IKEA emerged as the sleeper champ of retail’s augmented reality arms race. On the AI front, companies like Emarsys and Edgecase released eCommerce products that use advanced machine learning techniques to automate time-consuming data analysis and predictive forecasting strategies for retailers. With such tools available to manage mass audiences and their data, this is an opportunity for tech-minded shops to get a leg up on the competition. As a result, we can expect to see some large retailers (those who fail to adapt) fall behind in a relatively short amount of time. Survivors of this retail purge will make themselves known in the next year or two as these technologies become cornerstones of eCommerce. Here are some big changes to expect in the new paradigm of online shopping that everyone will be adding to next year’s budget.
“The IKEA Effect”
Diving into Apple’s ARkit early-on, the home furniture & appliance giant successfully launched an AR app that lets users view how IKEA’s furniture will look in their home by selecting products from an online store. Released with iOS11, the brand was primed for a massive market reaction. Sure, the items still have some issues (they don’t adapt to lighting too well and their textures aren’t quite realistic), but as the first retail brand to jump into AR, the starting gun has been fired, and many companies are racing to capture value through this technology. Redstage CEO Adam Morris sees huge potential for AR in eCommerce, stating, “There’s certain industries that I see really benefiting from AR, especially companies where seeing the item in-person plays a huge factor. I believe jewelry sales could be completely revolutionized with AR, and then on to home goods like furniture.” However, Morris notes that the eCommerce industry typically lags a few years behind the latest tech trends, relying on major user adoption for companies to jump on the bandwagon. “For instance,” he recalls, “we talked about ‘mobile-first’ for years, well before companies would begin implementing it. Most didn’t pull the trigger until they had no choice — when mobile users made up more than thirty percent of their user base. It’s easy to argue that the industry is still doing a horrible job at mobile commerce, even now with roughly two-billion online shoppers using mobile.” Perhaps the companies that have been slow to catch up with mobile will double-down on AR, or risk giving up their market share to the brands that do. So what happens when health and beauty retailers jump onto this train? If Snapchat can already morph your face and add eye-shadow, will brands like Ulta Beauty and Maybelline step up to the challenge? How will consumers react to no-longer trying on makeup in-store, or to saving bundles of cash testing it through your app? Years down the line, this may even change the supply chain, because stores can test products without actually making them, without buying in bulk, and never worry about hemorrhaging money selling-off failed product. Will proactive make an AR filter to show what you’d look like without acne? Will Schick and Gillette face-off for a chance to show you how to carve up that beard? Furthermore, what will become of Snapchat, now that the company announced it will let brands create their own AR features? The possibilities are endless, and the brands that don’t engage AR or continue to view it as a passing trend will feel it in their bottom lines sooner or later. Watch:Snapchat’s Latest AR Project Puts Artwork All Over US Cities
The Fully Automatic Customer Journey
Emarsys’ eCommerce platform is taking the world by storm. Using artificial intelligence to automate various customer retention and acquisition strategies, the AI uses machine learning to quickly create the perfect online shopping experience for each customer. Designed by Forrester, the system quickly crunches oceans of data about site visitors to cater to their needs and desires. After uploading two years of historical user data, eCommerce companies can maximize ROI on existing users. For new users, the Emarsys AI takes an average of 8 weeks to optimize the customer journey and activate recurring campaigns to keep engagement high. While there are many AI competitors out there, Emarsys boasts a robust, user-friendly platform that creates a truly personal experience for each shopper. As Morris describes it, “AI is becoming essential to work personalization into eCommerce, and machine learning systems offer huge advantages over rule-based systems. Marketers do not need to spend nearly as much time tweaking and administering a rule-based system when the AI is optimizing it automatically.” He adds, “We had a customer that doubled their newsletter list from 50k subscribers to 100k. However, since they did not employ any personalization strategies for what products were beingpresented, they only received a 15% increase in revenue from that channel.” As eCommerce threatens to surpass in-store sales (Business of Fashion) personalization of branded messages is critical. What are you doing to cater to each customer?
Fringe Shoppers Beware
We all do it. We’ll aimlessly surf Amazon or another online retailer looking for something cool to buy, even when we don’t know exactly what we want. Edgecase, the company formerly known as Compare Metrics recently released a new product that helps convert shoppers who have a vague idea or even no idea of what they want. In a time where eCommerce and marketing penetrate the lives of every consumer, tools like Edgecase that help convert the shopping addicted masses are becoming hugely important. When integrated with an online store, the software makes selections for users based on what they’re thinking of (i.e. a blue dress in a certain size) rather than a specific brand. Users can also receive lists of recommended items when shopping for a specific event like a wedding or graduation. As we enter that special time of year, consider how a system built to convert fringe shoppers can have massive impact.
Final Thoughts
As the holiday season looms, companies taking advantage of AR and AI pose the biggest threat to your bottom line. As the eCommerce arms race ramps up, winners and losers will be defined by how they spend their 2018 budget. Make sure you’re planning to implement these tactics by next year’s holiday rush, or risk being left out in the cold.
Possibly the most memorable viral marketing event in recent memory, the viral spread of this campaign made it an immense success. Whether it was the celebrity endorsements, the chance to show your support for a good cause, a dare from a friend, or simply being bored on a hot summer day, millions of participants drenched themselves, creating more than 2.4 million videos on Facebook alone. The result? One-hundred and fifteen million dollars in donations. What’s more, you’d be hard-pressed to find a person in the U.S. today who doesn’t know about A.L.S., the terminal illness that claims 100,000 lives per year. This is the pinnacle of viral marketing. So what’s the recipe?
Step 1: Keep It Simple
Much of the Ice Bucket Challenge’s success resulted from the ability of anyone, anywhere, to take part. Unlike guerrilla marketing stunts that require prospects to be in a specific location or attending an exclusive event, most people have access to ice, water and some kind of bucket. Other memorable campaigns include the #nomakeupselfie campaign that generated $2 million for cancer research. The campaign worked because it resonated with a global population of women frustrated with beauty standards. Like the IBC, this went viral because millions of people were potential participants. If you can’t think of an activity almost anyone can do themselves, plan to host events in a variety of population centers that maximize exposure for your cause. New York, D.C., Miami, Chicago, L.A. Find a place with tons of foot-traffic and use it to your advantage. Today, Uber gives out ice cream on hot days in more than 252 cities around the world. Almost anyone can eat ice cream right? Now with the recent launch of Uber Eats, this campaign is more important for the brand than ever before.
Step 2: Inspire Spreadability
Without social media, none of the previously mentioned campaigns would be possible. You couldn’t stand on a curb in Manhattan and request a donation from someone after dropping a bucket of freezing water on them (you’d probably be unconscious). If you want your viral marketing to work, it needs to inspire shares. Redbull skydiver Felix Baumgartner fell 23 miles to earth from the edge of space, hitting a maximum velocity of 833mph and breaking the sound barrier with his torso. The key ingredient? Hosting the video live on YouTube, resulting in 8 million live views. Before the event, a content-fueled countdown of shareable articles, photos, and videos packed newsfeeds, building up the hype as much as possible. After the jump, the spreadability of the content kept it in the minds of consumers everywhere, marking Redbull as the most badass brand on the planet. However, it was incredibly expensive. $65 million in fact. But it worked. Redbull saw U.S. sales skyrocket 7% almost immediately, roughly equivalent to $1.6 billion in sales. I’d say that’s solid ROI. A year later, a low-budget video called “How Animals Eat Food” (below) received 88 million views at the cost of a camera and one man’s self respect. Of course, one is a video of a man accomplishing the impossible and the other features a man smashing his face into a kitchen table. Virality is not an exact science, but it’s borne out of a consumer’s desire to share what they’ve seen with their friends, family and co-workers. In addition to simplicity, spreadability is paramount.
Step 3: Leverage Influence
While influencers like social media stars and celebrities aren’t always paid during viral marketing events, their impact introduces the campaign to massive new audiences. Without them, many campaigns would simply lack that viral, global boost. An endless number of celebrities participated in the Ice Bucket Challenge, continuously expanding its reach to their fans. Imagine how many people only participated because they saw their idol taking part. In an age where we vicariously live through the lives of the rich and famous, consumers want to feel connected with them any way they can. However, influencers don’t always have to be celebrities. Some companies have seen success giving free merch to popular students on college campuses, well known community figures, or a child who wants to be batman for a day. It doesn’t matter who your influencer is, so long as they help broaden your exposure through strategic means. In a controversial stunt, marketers of the dating app Tinder took a slightly different approach… They attended college parties at large universities, standing on tables at fraternities telling guys young women were waiting for them on the app. Then they ran over to sorority parties and told them the men were waiting. Acting as the source of exclusive info and delivering it to popular students in large social circles, the stunt turned out to be a huge success. Users increased from 5,000 to 15,000 almost overnight simply by attending college parties. The rest is history. Today, Tinder’s buying population is the fastest growing of all internet dating services.
The eCommerce Connection
How you create viral marketing for your eCommerce site depends on your understanding of consumer interests. If you get it right, your campaign could bring millions of new customers to your site. It might be as simple as a clever product video like “Will It Blend” or as disturbing as the Squatty-Potty commercial (above). Perhaps asking your fans to make videos of themselves using your product is a better route. Maybe it’s worth it to give free swag to a YouTube celebrity. Just make sure it’s simple, spreadable, and you get the right people to expand your reach if need be. Otherwise, you might as well stick to coupons. As a group of seasoned eCommerce pros, the Redstage creative team constantly devises ways for clients to increase sales online. If you’re in need of a creative strategy for your site, give us a call: 1-888-335-2747
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