Black Friday and Cyber Monday: Mobile and Tablet Devices Take Center Stage
The Thanksgiving weekend has come and gone, but the results of Black Friday through Cyber Monday show good things – and new directions – for eCommerce. Numbers were up across the board, and while nothing shocking emerged, the weekend reinforced the trend toward mobile and tablet ecommerce. Dubbed “Couch Commerce”, shoppers made their Thanksgiving and Black Friday purchases on their mobile devices, whether from the comfort of their couches or while comparing prices in-store. Sales on mobile and tablet devices increased from 3.2% to 9.8% of sales, with tablets doing especially well.
Chase Paymentech showed sales up by 24% and transactions up by 36% from last year. Paymentech President Mike Duffy said, “Cyber Monday has historically been the biggest single day of the season, and so far that’s true again. In addition, e-commerce is now an established part of the Black Friday phenomenon, as consumers take advantage of online shopping deals as well as Black Friday in-store bargains.”
The Big Winner: Amazon
Small businesses and ecommerce giants alike showed solid to exceptional growth, but one company stood out in particular: Amazon. ChannelAdvisor CEO Scott Wingo says: “As we look at the different e-commerce channels, Amazon was a clear winner with more than 50 percent growth year over year – well over twice the growth rate of overall e-commerce.” The mix of increased ecommerce traffic, well-marketed deals and find-everything-here utility was a hit.
How to Make the Best of the Rest of the Season… and Beyond
So what does this mean for the next few weeks? First, if you aren’t selling on Amazon, this is something you really need to consider. Second, follow Amazon’s lead and keep the promotions coming. After ending Cyber
Deal Week, the eCommerce giant launched Holiday Flurry Deal Week, to be followed “Top Holiday Deals.” In essence, don’t have one promotion, but rather several variations to drum up interests. New promotions or campaigns are new marketing opportunities. Another marketing strategy that has been a hit this season is paid search. With more and more competitive sellers online, getting noticed is a big part of the battle, and paid search has a high ROI.
Whether for the next few weeks or the next few years, it’s time to get your mobile site running smoothly if you haven’t already. The Thanksgiving weekend was a microcosm of the growing trends in eCommerce. Mobile and tablet devices are an expanding market that your eCommerce business can’t afford to miss out on.
As last-minute holiday shopping approaches and things get frantic, remember to focus on clarity and patience with customers. Be helpful, respond quickly, and be honest about things like shipping dates and order status.
While there is concern that pushing sales early and offering steep discounts in the beginning of the holiday cycle will compromise the rest of the holidays, the Chase Paymentech Cyber Holiday Pulse Index shows “Holiday Shopping Momentum Holding Strong.”
Best of luck and happy holidays!
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