E-commerce has never been more relevant or needed for people’s day-to-day lives. As we talked about a few years ago, e-commerce was already booming before the pandemic, and has since become more essential. We’re taking a look at how e-commerce has been impacted during the holidays with statistics from last year. In addition, we have some key suggestions for how to test and prepare your e-commerce app/website before the holiday season.
Read more below or download our E-Commerce Guide: Testing Your E-Commerce Ahead of Black Friday & Cyber Monday for more detailed information.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday in 2020
Black Friday and Cyber Monday in 2020 marked the beginning of a new era. Many changes to shopping occurred in 2020, and Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals were moved almost entirely online due to COVID-19.
As a result of functioning primarily online, these deals were able to start earlier and last even longer than in the past. Stores actually closed for the holiday instead of encouraging in person shopping. Buying online and picking up in the store or via curbside pickup became a new norm, and helped prevent shipping delays for consumers.
These mainly online deals allowed for other companies and businesses to join in on the deals as well. Consumers spent $9 billion on the web the day after Thanksgiving, up 21.6% year over year, according to data from Adobe Analytics. On Black Friday, Adobe found consumers spent $6.3 million per minute online, or $27.50 per person, on average. Spending on smartphones surged 25.3% year over year to reach $3.6 billion, representing 40% of total e-commerce spending.
Cyber Monday also proved lucrative, as holiday shoppers spent $10.8 billion on Cyber Monday, up 15.1% from a year ago, setting a record for the largest U.S. online shopping day ever, according to Adobe.
In-person Shopping Decline
Compared to the previous year, pre-pandemic 2019, the drop in in-person shopping was quite pronounced, foot traffic dropped 55% YoY . Retailers used this opportunity to launch their deals earlier than in years past, and 52% of shoppers took advantage of these early deals. In 2020, retailers also encouraged shoppers to shop online and pick-up in stores. 50% of shoppers said they planned to use curbside or pickup options more than the previous year.
While brick and mortar retailers found ways to work around the pandemic by capitalizing with online shoppers, the online retailer Shopify also saw a 76% increase of global holiday shoppers. Between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Shopify collectively made $5.1 billion dollars in sales.
What about the internet’s most famous online retailer? Amazon also saw an increase in online spending during their Amazon Prime days on June 21 and 22nd of 2021. While they made $11.19 billion in 2021, this number is not nearly as impressive as the last few years with only a 7.6% increase. However, Amazon continues to see a year over year increase in online spending, and also saw a 50 million increase in global Prime Membership enrollment versus 2020.
2021 Black Friday and Cyber Monday
In 2021, it’s projected that more companies will be launching their sales earlier and running them longer. Retailers are making this move due to the success of previous years cyber sales deals; however, some retailers are making this decision to combat the supply chain issues that have cropped up in 2021. With worries about deliveries being made on time and cargo processing delays, many supply chain executives are encouraging consumers to prepare and order early to beat the holiday rush.
Nevertheless, American buying strength continues to increase. Business Insider reports that most of this spending comes from goods versus services, and there are no signs of that slowing down. As the economy begins to recover, online retailers will continue to see a rise in consumer spending.
Prepping Your E-Commerce Product for the Holiday Rush
Device Coverage
Trends suggest that more consumers are using their mobile devices to make online purchases. With the latest iPhone 13 and Samsung S21 Ultra releases (among many others), making sure your product is compatible with the latest available devices is essential.
Load Testing
If you are launching your anticipated sale at midnight on Black Friday, you might want to load test to make sure your product can handle all the traffic.
Accessibility Testing
With more devices providing improved accessibility features, it’s imperative that you reach all of your intended audiences. Optimizing these features can be key to driving the best results for all audiences.
Functionality Testing
As always it’s important to check the functionality of the product as a whole. If consumers encounter an issue, they’re less likely to utilize your product.
Our Comprehensive Guide to E-Commerce Testing
Are you planning to launch an e-commerce app? Our team has tested dozens of e-commerce websites for a large variety of brands since 2008. We’ve utilized our experience with e-commerce and gathered outside data to create a comprehensive guide to e-commerce testing. In this guide, we cover some of the most important types of testing needed to ensure your e-commerce is successful. Download our guide or reach out to us for more help!
