Everyone was predicting the eCommerce BFCM (Black Friday Cyber Monday) season would be the biggest ever, which is true in most aspects. +22% overall increase in revenue is definitely a massive jump versus last year, no doubt! What we wanted to highlight today are the trends and events that surprised us and what we recommend our clients take into consideration for 2021.

MOBILE FIRST SHOPPING JOURNEY. Spending on smartphones surged 25.3% year over year to reach $3.6 billion, representing 40% of total eCommerce spending. Mobile is today especially more prevalent for product discovery as mobile visits represented 64% of visits during the BFCM season. Mobile First Consumer Experience is a must today.

NEW CATEGORIES WON CART / BASKET SPACE. Retailers did not expect to see some categories being added to shoppers’ basket during this Sales Event that has historically seen new TVs, Phones, Consoles, Cameras being bought. This year, consumers also turned to the internet for fresh food and snacks this holiday season. Online grocery shopping on Black Friday surged 397% compared with October daily averages, Adobe said. Sales of personal care products skyrocketed 556%, and online spending on pet products rose 254%.

RADICAL SUPPORT FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

According to Google Trends, search interest for “local businesses” was five times higher than it was the same time last year. Interestingly, search interest for “local businesses” has doubled compared to the pandemic’s early months.

And this interest in small and local business translated to early success, with sales 545% higher on Black Friday than an average day in October. On Small Business Saturday, consumers spent $4.7 billion online, a 30.2%increase year-on-year. Their challenge was to differentiate from large retailers, and we have seen that the shops that provided the best eCommerce experiences didn’t try to compete with the major online retailers on factors like price. Rather, these merchants understood that customers were willing to spend a little more in exchange for personal touches and neighbourhood proximity. So they aimed to provide distinctive, local touches, such as area-specific products.

SHOPIFY IS NOW A GLOBAL ECOMMERCE FORCE. While BFCM did see an average of +22% in ecommerce revenue, Shopify did see a +76% increase in revenue coming from Shopify stores, which is a major win for them, and was driven by 2 main factorsLthe interest in Small Businesses, which still represent 90% of their merchants, and their hyper fast growth with Enterprise companies.

CONVENIENCE & PERSONALIZATION ARE TOP OF MIND. Curbside pickup and local delivery started as lifelines for retailers early in the pandemic and continued to play a pivotal role this BFCM season. Not only do consumers want to support local businesses and shop safely from the comfort of their homes, they also want to avoid shipping costs and delays. Not only consumers are leaning towards these flexible fulfilment solutions, but they also spend more money when they do so. Shopify reports that shoppers check out with a 25% higher cart size when they opt for local pickup and delivery.

TO SUMMARIZE, IN ORDER TO WIN MORE CONSUMERS AND INCREASE ORDER VALUE, RETAILERS AND MANUFACTURERS SHOULD CONSIDER:

. Paying Extra attention to their Mobile Consumer Experience (speed, ease of usage, product experience…)

. Bring new products to your shoppers that you did not consider “eCommerce Ready”

. Deliver convenience, flexible fulfilment options, and offer personalization to your shoppers from a local perspective

For more details, Dentsu Commerce has launched a Readiness Checklist that recaps the strategy, technology and operational actions you need to perform in order to make sure you are leaving no stones unturned and your brand is set up for success during peak sales events. Check it out here.