The Aftermath of Cyber Week 2020: Uncommon Sales For An Uncommon Year
07/01/2021 Categories: Articles
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Even in this year from hell, consumers still met Cyber Week 2020 with massive anticipation and sales. How did this unique year stack up to the Cyber Weeks of previous years? For the uninitiated, Cyber Week consists of the following dates: Before we get into what happened this year, here are a couple of projections that give you a sense of Cyber Week’s scale: Let’s begin with the overall performance. Ecommerce sales soared in 2020 compared to previous years. Our partner BigCommerce recorded a massive 74% increase in Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) compared to 2019. While this is a continuation of a trend that we’ve seen in past years, the size of the GMV increase shattered expectations. The coronavirus pandemic provided the impetus for people to stay home and shop online. In a SYKES report, nearly 44% of global consumers replied they wouldn’t feel comfortable shopping in person until they were sure the pandemic was under control. Going a step further, 25% of respondents stated they wouldn’t be shopping in person until a vaccine became widely available. These attitudes made eCommerce essential to people all over the world as soon as the pandemic proliferated, as you can see: Cyber Monday had the top spot in GMV and AOV Cyber Monday has become the top dog for total GMV (+64% YoY) and average order value (164$, up from $136 in 2019).1 Once again, the most significant factor of this was the coronavirus pandemic: widespread lockdown policies meant shopping in stores was limited, forcing the usual in-store shoppers to do their gift-buying online. The leisurely pace of online shopping meant that consumers had more time to look for deals during Cyber Week. This led to less popular shopping days (like Super Sunday and Thanksgiving) experiencing the most YoY growth in GMV (+86% and +84%, respectively).2 Black Friday continued to see Cyber Week's top order share Black Friday held onto the top order share this year (+45% YoY)1 due to some unique 2020 consumer behaviors. On top of looking for the best deals possible, online shoppers were way more enthusiastic about supporting small retailers this year. Small businesses' survival was a huge issue this year, as they were forced to comply with government-mandated lockdown protecting virus spread. Consumer sentiment began to lean toward supporting businesses affected by these lockdowns: In turn, Small Business Saturday captured the second most orders placed this year. Cyber Week is growing globally The world saw a lot more global
this unique year stack up to the Cyber Weeks of previous years?
For the uninitiated, Cyber Week consists of the following dates:
Before we get into what happened this year, here are a couple of projections that give you a sense of Cyber Week’s scale:
Let’s begin with the overall performance.
Ecommerce sales soared in 2020 compared to previous years.
Our partner BigCommerce recorded a massive 74% increase in Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) compared to 2019. While this is a continuation of a trend that we’ve seen in past years, the size of the GMV increase shattered expectations.
The coronavirus pandemic provided the impetus for people to stay home and shop online. In a SYKES report, nearly 44% of global consumers replied they wouldn’t feel comfortable shopping in person until they were sure the pandemic was under control. Going a step further, 25% of respondents stated they wouldn’t be shopping in person until a vaccine became widely available. These attitudes made eCommerce essential to people all over the world as soon as the pandemic proliferated, as you can see:
Cyber Monday had the top spot in GMV and AOV
Cyber Monday has become the top dog for total GMV (+64% YoY) and average order value (164$, up from $136 in 2019).1 Once again, the most significant factor of this was the coronavirus pandemic: widespread lockdown policies meant shopping in stores was limited, forcing the usual in-store shoppers to do their gift-buying online. The leisurely pace of online shopping meant that consumers had more time to look for deals during Cyber Week. This led to less popular shopping days (like Super Sunday and Thanksgiving) experiencing the most YoY growth in GMV (+86% and +84%, respectively).2
Black Friday continued to see Cyber Week's top order share
Black Friday held onto the top order share this year (+45% YoY)1 due to some unique 2020 consumer behaviors. On top of looking for the best deals possible, online shoppers were way more enthusiastic about supporting small retailers this year. Small businesses' survival was a huge issue this year, as they were forced to comply with government-mandated lockdown protecting virus spread. Consumer sentiment began to lean toward supporting businesses affected by these lockdowns:
In turn, Small Business Saturday captured the second most orders placed this year.
Cyber Week is growing globally
The world saw a lot more global Cyber Week traction in 2020. In the U.K. sales grew at a jolly good 122% YoY3 – generating the highest total sales of any country besides the U.S. The trends found Black Friday to be the critical global shopping date, being the most well-known of all the Cyber Week dates.
How People Shopped in 2020
Mobile shopping market share continued its growth
Every year, the number of people using their smartphones to shop gets larger and larger. While mobile has not quite dethroned desktop shopping (desktop still claims the majority share of orders at 49%), smartphones rose to 40% market share, up 7% from 2019. Desktop sales also claimed the highest AOV out of all shopping devices at $159; AOV on smartphones this year topped off at $121.4
With mobile commerce on the rise, we took a closer look at how smartphone purchases divvy up. According to data from BigCommerce, there is a correlation between the type of mobile device and the overall spend:
Social Commerce
Before the holiday shopping season, Facebook pushed for more social commerce by introducing tools like Shops and Checkout on Instagram. It makes sense; 36% of customers search for product information on social media these days. During Cyber Week, Facebook saw a 123% increase in GMV and a 98% increase in orders YoY,1 so their new emphasis on social commerce may have paid off.
Summary
The global pandemic this year shook up our daily lives in a way no one could have foreseen. However, Cyber Week 2020 continued to grow even more than usual. Clearly, online commerce became the de facto method of buying gifts. The question is if things will stay that way after we go back to our “old normal.” Kensium will be here, keeping a close eye on all eCommerce trends.
If your customers are struggling with a confusing website and unintuitive buying journey, consider a technological upgrade. Kensium offers complete end-to-end solutions from the ERP back office to the front-facing eCommerce platform. Contact Kensium today.
Tags
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Even in this year from hell, consumers still met Cyber Week 2020 with massive anticipation and sales. How did this unique year stack up to the Cyber Weeks of previous years?
For the uninitiated, Cyber Week consists of the following dates:
Before we get into what happened this year, here are a couple of projections that give you a sense of Cyber Week’s scale:
Let’s begin with the overall performance.
Ecommerce sales soared in 2020 compared to previous years.
Our partner BigCommerce recorded a massive 74% increase in Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) compared to 2019. While this is a continuation of a trend that we’ve seen in past years, the size of the GMV increase shattered expectations.
The coronavirus pandemic provided the impetus for people to stay home and shop online. In a SYKES report, nearly 44% of global consumers replied they wouldn’t feel comfortable shopping in person until they were sure the pandemic was under control. Going a step further, 25% of respondents stated they wouldn’t be shopping in person until a vaccine became widely available. These attitudes made eCommerce essential to people all over the world as soon as the pandemic proliferated, as you can see:
Cyber Monday had the top spot in GMV and AOV
Cyber Monday has become the top dog for total GMV (+64% YoY) and average order value (164$, up from $136 in 2019).1 Once again, the most significant factor of this was the coronavirus pandemic: widespread lockdown policies meant shopping in stores was limited, forcing the usual in-store shoppers to do their gift-buying online. The leisurely pace of online shopping meant that consumers had more time to look for deals during Cyber Week. This led to less popular shopping days (like Super Sunday and Thanksgiving) experiencing the most YoY growth in GMV (+86% and +84%, respectively).2
Black Friday continued to see Cyber Week's top order share
Black Friday held onto the top order share this year (+45% YoY)1 due to some unique 2020 consumer behaviors. On top of looking for the best deals possible, online shoppers were way more enthusiastic about supporting small retailers this year. Small businesses' survival was a huge issue this year, as they were forced to comply with government-mandated lockdown protecting virus spread. Consumer sentiment began to lean toward supporting businesses affected by these lockdowns:
In turn, Small Business Saturday captured the second most orders placed this year.
Cyber Week is growing globally
The world saw a lot more global Cyber Week traction in 2020. In the U.K. sales grew at a jolly good 122% YoY3 – generating the highest total sales of any country besides the U.S. The trends found Black Friday to be the critical global shopping date, being the most well-known of all the Cyber Week dates.
How People Shopped in 2020
Mobile shopping market share continued its growth
Every year, the number of people using their smartphones to shop gets larger and larger. While mobile has not quite dethroned desktop shopping (desktop still claims the majority share of orders at 49%), smartphones rose to 40% market share, up 7% from 2019. Desktop sales also claimed the highest AOV out of all shopping devices at $159; AOV on smartphones this year topped off at $121.4
With mobile commerce on the rise, we took a closer look at how smartphone purchases divvy up. According to data from BigCommerce, there is a correlation between the type of mobile device and the overall spend:
Social Commerce
Before the holiday shopping season, Facebook pushed for more social commerce by introducing tools like Shops and Checkout on Instagram. It makes sense; 36% of customers search for product information on social media these days. During Cyber Week, Facebook saw a 123% increase in GMV and a 98% increase in orders YoY,1 so their new emphasis on social commerce may have paid off.
Summary
The global pandemic this year shook up our daily lives in a way no one could have foreseen. However, Cyber Week 2020 continued to grow even more than usual. Clearly, online commerce became the de facto method of buying gifts. The question is if things will stay that way after we go back to our “old normal.” Kensium will be here, keeping a close eye on all eCommerce trends.
If your customers are struggling with a confusing website and unintuitive buying journey, consider a technological upgrade. Kensium offers complete end-to-end solutions from the ERP back office to the front-facing eCommerce platform. Contact Kensium today.