57% of holiday shoppers have already begun

Photo from merchandisingmatters.com

By Laura Heller

Anyone looking for more proof that holiday shopping begins earlier has some new statistics to cite: 56.6 percent of those celebrating the holidays had begun shopping by early November, up from 54.4 percent last year and up further from the 49 percent who had started by this time in 2008, the first time the National Retail Federation asked the question.

It's the highest percentage seen in that timeframe, according to the NRF's Consumer Holiday Spending Survey conducted by Prosper Insights and Analytics. Some 21 percent of shoppers began before October, according to a recent Brand Keys survey.

"Thanksgiving weekend shopping has evolved tremendously over the past few years and can no longer be seen as the 'start' of the holiday season, though there's no question it's still important to millions of holiday shoppers and retailers of all shapes and sizes," said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. "There is a real sea change happening in retail when it comes to the how, when, where and why of holiday shopping. Consumers today are looking for great prices and value-add promotions earlier than ever before, and retailers have answered these demands in several different ways already this holiday season."


Younger shoppers are among the busiest early in the season. Nearly 65 percent of 25 to 34-year-olds and 62 percent of 35 to 44-year-olds say they have already started shopping.

 "While there are many 'Type A' holiday shoppers who love to get an early start on their wish lists, it's also likely some of the early shopping we've seen has been in the form of 'self-gifting,' and there's no question millennials love treating themselves to something when the price is right," said Pam Goodfellow, principal analyst and consumer insights director for Prosper. "And with Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday still to come, holiday shoppers of all ages are still in for a treat when it comes to unbeatable promotions."


 Hot gift items this year include apparel and accessories (60 percent); books, CD's and DVDs (46 percent); and toys (41 percent). One in five will buy jewelry, and 30.5 percent will spend on food or candy.


 And for the first time, the number of shoppers who intend to buy gift cards has declined: 56.3 percent plan to buy cards, down from 60 percent last year, despite gift cards being the most requested gift item, according to NRF.


 Thus far in the season, retailers are getting high marks from shoppers when it comes to promotions. Slightly more than 40 percent rank retail promotions as excellent or good, and another 34.8 percent said they were average.


 Retailers' attempts to reach millennials with more targeted messaging and promotions appear to be working as well. Nearly 59 percent of 18 to 24-year-olds and 54.5 percent of 25 to 34-year-olds agree retailers' deals have either been excellent or good.
To View Original Article: http://www.fierceretail.com/story/57-holiday-shoppers-have-already-begun/2015-11-13

Grilling Up Good Times on the Fourth of July

Pam Goodfellow     

June 26, 2014

                  

With winter’s polar vortex a distant memory, summer’s warm temperatures have consumers celebrating in front of the grill.

According to NRF’s 2014 Independence Day Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, more than 153 million consumers – nearly two-thirds of those celebrating – are set to observe the Fourth of July holiday with a cookout, barbeque or picnic, spending an estimated $6.2 billion ($68.16 per household) on burgers, snacks and other food items for the occasion. This is the first year NRF asked celebrants about their spending plans on food items.


July 4th Plan Spend on Food Items - In Billions

Charts from the NRF Foundation’s Retail Insight Center. To access this data and more research please visit the Retail Insight Center.

 

While the majority will spend the day around a picnic table, many will also attend a fireworks display or community celebration (105 million) or a parade (27 million). Plans for each of those activities declined from last year, but an increasing number of celebrants are taking advantage of the three-day holiday weekend: 13.7 percent (32 million) plan to take a vacation, the highest in the survey’s history. This figure rises to nearly one in five among Millennials.

Although gas prices continue to creep upward, holiday travelers seem relatively undaunted. More than 70 percent indicate their spending for the Fourth of July will not be impacted by prices at the pump, up from nearly 65 percent a year ago.

Access more data from the NRF Independence Day Survey: Visit the Retail Insight Center.



Celebration Plans For Independence Day

Charts from the NRF Foundation’s Retail Insight Center. To access this data and more research please visit the Retail Insight Center.


 

To view the original article visit: https://nrf.com/news/grilling-good-times-the-fourth-of-july#sthash.3ipzaBKO.dpuf

What is the Return on Omnichannel?

Kerry Lemos

April 14, 2015

This article was published in the April 2015 issue of STORES Magazine.

 

Digital efforts helped Macy’s fourth-quarter sales increase to $9.364 billion, up 1.8 percent from the prior year.

Many retailers are initially very excited to embark on an omnichannel journey. However, once they begin plotting their strategy, many start to wonder if the substantial effort required is worth the investment.

It’s no small task: Inventory processes must be upgraded, websites updated and employees trained. But 50 percent of all U.S. retail sales are predicted to be omnichannel by 2017, according to Forrester, and for many retailers, the concept of omnichannel helps better paint a picture of a repeat customer’s total value. With the probability of repeat customers buying a product between 60 and 70 percent and the prospect of new customers doing so below 20 percent, it’s clear why so many are looking to omnichannel for answers.

Successful omnichannel strategies incorporate several components, often including shipping from a retail store. A CIO might suggest integrating the store’s retail software with a distributed order management system in order to roll out a ship-from-store program, the goal of which would be to double inventory turnover. The CFO might reject the project entirely, citing an increase in shipping costs, resulting in an overall loss. Organizational priorities need an alignment to move forward; it is imperative to leverage the benefits of any part on an omnichannel strategy to solve a current business need.

One popular omnichannel strategy for retailers is buy online, pick up in store. Macy’s expertly integrates the online and in-store experience, which is reflected in its most recent financial results. Digital efforts helped fourth-quarter sales increase to $9.4 billion, up 1.8 percent from the prior year. Among its strongest performers were dresses and men’s and women’s shoes. In those particular departments, Macy’s tested a single view of inventory between stores and direct-to-customer warehouses.

Can smarter fulfillment routing based on the most profitable location result in more balanced inventory and fewer markdowns leading to savings that can offset any new shipping costs? Even though sales didn’t come from the highest-profit departments, they added up to an overall success as new inventory efficiencies were found and radiated sales were made when customers picked up the orders.

Sephora is also a leader in omnichannel strategy. In addition to a successful network of physical retail stores, the brand has a strong online presence and even hosts its own online “BeautyTalk” community.

The retailer integrates online with in-store activity through the constantly evolving Sephora to Go app, allowing customers access to their “loves” list on any mobile device. As customers are encouraged to cross channels with their omnipresent shopping lists, rethinking how sales and costs are attributed across channels becomes a priority. Sephora is looking to evolve the experience, deploying beacons in stores throughout the United States to deliver personalized alerts to shoppers who opt in.

The trend is clear — no matter the evolving processes or technology, the target is on continuing the retail relationship with the consumer across all platforms, channels and mediums. Correct sale attribution, together with tailored retail experiences and customer nurturing, is critical to the strategy. It is no longer just a mobile sale or web sales volume driving development of that channel: It is the retail experience and the brand story. And the rising spend per customer and elevated loyalty metrics are the return on investment measurements for the omnichannel investment.

In the end, this holistic approach to retail enhances the shopping experience, which leads to satisfied, loyal customers. And that’s an investment well worth making.

To view the original article please visit: https://nrf.com/news/what-is-the-return-omnichannel

Downright Personal

Fiona Soltes

February 02, 2015

The results of personalization are undisputed — but what’s necessary to make it work?

First impressions can provide valuable information. But anyone who’s ever been in a relationship understands that really knowing someone takes time, experience — and often, a few steps forward and a few steps back to get it right.

This year, virtually every list of leading trends touts the importance of personalization. Truly knowing your customers, anticipating their needs, strengthening your brand: It would be easy to fall head-over-heels with vendor promises. Some are in-store efforts boosted by recent technology; others are aimed at e-commerce and mobile, providing just the right experience to just the right customer at just the right moment.

After beginning personalization efforts, New York-based Sabon saw a 35 percent increase in sales on Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2014. The luxury bath and beauty products retailer credits the results to a new relationship with Dynamic Yield, a provider of real-time, automated personalization and content optimization solutions.

Inna Uretsky, Sabon’s e-commerce and marketing coordinator, believes personalization is “crucial” in today’s retail marketplace. But it’s also essential, she says, that it works in real time.

Dynamic Yield created a layer on top of Sabon’s website content management system; pages can now be broken into distinct units that Sabon can directly update with various offers, including video and promotional content.

Because numerous variations can be used simultaneously, Sabon is able to try different messages based on automated algorithms. During the Black Friday weekend, optimizations were continuously generated, leading to increased conversions and sales.

“We were a little surprised,” admits Uretsky. “We were very happy with the results. With Dynamic Yield, we could make decisions in real time, and switch up copy and images right away.” Promotions remained relatively constant during that time period, but were presented in a half dozen different ways to individual customers.

 

Quick changes — especially those based on algorithms and not just “hunches” — can bring quick results.

 

Opting in
Liad Agmon, Dynamic Yield CEO, says the company’s personalization solution works not only because it puts control in the hands of the retailer rather than the retailer’s developers, but also because customers as a whole are becoming increasingly impatient. Quick changes — especially those based on algorithms and not just “hunches” — can bring quick results.

The expectations are not just related to online. Ideally, what happens in the world of e-commerce impacts the store experience in a positive way. But some personalization solutions specifically target bricks-and-mortar.

Consider beacon technology, where an in-store device emits a radio frequency that can be recognized by an app on a customer’s mobile device. When that customer is close enough to the beacon, she can receive targeted messages and promotions.

Not long ago, there was concern that some shoppers would consider beacons an infringement of their privacy.

But “Since this technology does require an app, and the users have to download that app, and they have to opt in and have their Bluetooth turned on … the only shoppers who are getting these messages are the ones who raised their hands and said, ‘Yes, I’m open to this,’” says Rebecca Schuette, director of marketing for indoor mobile marketing company Swirl.

“Because of that, shoppers have been very happy to receive the content. We counsel our retailers to only share information that would be relevant and valuable to customers on their shopping journey.”

Many retailers are aware that beacons are hot technology and want to quickly get on board, Schuette says. But in some cases, they haven’t fully considered best-use case scenarios.

“The real magic happens when someone has thought it through, and asked, ‘What problem am I trying to solve?’” she says. “Am I trying to enhance the indoor shopping experience? Then maybe I place it in a certain department and offer up relevant content.

“If my intent is to increase conversion in the store, maybe I offer up messaging about a discount or deal that’s happening, which could then be redeemed at the cash register.”

In late 2014, Swirl released the results of a study of in-store campaign performance data and surveys of shoppers that had received recent beacon-triggered messages. The study showed that 60 percent of shoppers had opened and engaged with beacon-triggered content and 30 percent had redeemed beacon-triggered offers at the point of purchase.

In addition, 60 percent said they would buy more as a result of receiving beacon-triggered marketing messages; 61 percent said they’d visit a store with beacon marketing campaigns more often; and 73 percent said the content and offers increased their likelihood to purchase during the store visit.

Even so, Schuette says, beacon marketing is “still in its infancy.” The future beacon-enabled shopping experience will be able to couple a shopper’s location with the interaction he has had with the brand leading up to that point, including in-store experiences, mobile and e-commerce.

“When you can gather all of that together, then you can really drive personalized communication,” Schuette says.

 

Retailers should focus on gaining a clear and transparent view of inventory that’s as near real time as possible.

Visibility and technology
Future applications aside, some retailers are still challenged by what’s already available. Schuette’s advice? “Don’t wait. Consumers are ready for it. They’ve shown us that. But start small. And then be ready to scale quickly.”

Others take a more cautious view.

Kevin Sterneckert, chief marketing officer for OrderDynamics, is a former Gartner research vice president and lead retail analyst, past senior director of global product strategy at Oracle Retail and vice president of retail for DemandTec, and has held numerous retail management positions.

His perspective is that personalization can be “an incredibly expensive investment.” Retailers who jump on the bandwagon without having the correct infrastructure in place will only end up “advertising to their customers how messed up they are.”

If a customer is targeted with a specific product, loves it, wants to buy it and then discovers that there is no inventory or that it’s the wrong size or color, trust in the retailer quickly fades.

“Just like retail has always been, it’s all about the details,” he says. Rather than highlight the rising trend of personalization, he’s keeping a different list. First and foremost, Sterneckert says, retailers should focus on gaining a clear and transparent view of inventory that’s as near real-time as possible, have a true understanding of the return process and how it is impacting the business, reconcile their pricing strategies, and better grasp what their true costs are.

OrderDynamics works with retailers to create “seamless commerce.”

“We help retailers understand what to do given the conditions that exist,” Sterneckert says. “Instead of saying, ‘Here’s what’s happened,’ which most analytics companies can tell you, or ‘Here’s what might happen,’ something more predictive, we offer prescriptive analytics … . ‘Given what has happened, here’s what you need to do.’”

What retailers need to do, he believes, is get their houses in order.

Meanwhile, Oliver Jaeger, vice president of global marketing and communications for e-Spirit, isn’t advising retailers to wait when it comes to personalization. But he is suggesting they choose carefully.

“In order for retailers to delivery personalized content you have to have the right technology,” says Jaeger, whose company offers FirstSpirit, a web content management system that integrates with leading e-commerce systems as well as customer relationship management, search engine optimization tools and the like.

The biggest challenge in the area of personalization, he believes, is the ability to turn customer touchpoints into customer trust points.

“Make sure you are not stalking your customers,” he says. “Personalization is great if your customers accept it, and they will only accept it if they see value in it. If they feel you are invading their privacy with unwanted offers, you will turn them off to your products or services. Make sure you are providing them with valuable information at each touchpoint they have with you along their customer journey.”

 

Achieving authenticity
As we all know, trust is a necessary component of any relationship — be it customer and retailer or retailer and solution provider. So is planning for the future.

Robin Copland, vice president of retail for the Americas for software development pioneer ThoughtWorks, believes personalization efforts will only take a retailer so far; his company already is looking beyond it toward authenticity.

Efforts at personalization can still feel too broad; even beacons, he says, “are still mass market, to a certain extent.” With one client, the approach was to take what it already was known for — legendary customer service — and extend that experience online to create consistency and authenticity. Luxury apparel company Mitchells worked with ThoughtWorks to create a website that offers the ability to work directly with its style advisors just as if you were in a store.

Within the first two months, there were more than 1,000 back-and-forth communications with customers, creating a different kind of personalized service. Those communications move beyond product recommendations to help establish loyalty and brand ambassadors.

For anyone who’s been paying attention, however, the signs of current and future definitions of personalization have been there all along.

In 2007, PricewaterhouseCoopers and TNS Retail Forward envisioned the retail landscape of 2015. They forecast changing demographics, strategic outsourcing, targeted collaboration, retail outlets, a rising importance of technology and the critical need to keep customer purchase data safe and secure.

But “Retailing 2015: New Frontiers” also imagined a “new consumer,” one who would “not be easy for retailers to understand or master.”

“The value proposition guiding their product purchases is changing; consumers will put heightened emphasis on personalization, look for opportunities where their input matters, and value product and service solutions,” the report states. “Consumers are increasingly proactive in their purchase decisions and selective about with whom they want to do business.”

And, apparently, how they want to do it.

To view the original article please visit: https://nrf.com/news/downright-personal

13 Retail Blogs You Should Follow

Snap Retail

Description: “At SnapRetail, we want to make life easy for local retailers…We want them to have more - more time, more traffic and more sales. That's why we've developed a system that helps them easily engage and sell to customers using email and social media.”

Follow them at: @SnapRetail

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BrandSpank

Description: “We are a user experience agency for brick & mortar retailers.”

Follow them at: @BRANDSPANKshop

Article we recommend: Customer Service is Branding

 

 

Flex Receipts

Description: “Unlock the power of a digital receipt that builds your brand,
engages your customers and transforms your business with
valuable analytic insights.”

Follow them at: @flexReceipts

Article we recommend: The Art of Storytelling in a Digital Receipt

 

 

Retail Pro

Description: Our professionally certified business partners provide local training, service, support, and regulatory compliance so you can grow your business no matter where it takes you.

Follow them at: @RetailProNews

Article we recommend: The Key to Increasing Sales? Mobile

 

 

NCR CounterPoint

Description: “NCR Counterpoint includes robust point-of-sale, inventory management software, built-in customer loyalty, automated purchasing, and configurable reporting capabilities.”

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Retail TouchPoints

Description: “Retail TouchPoints (RTP) is an online publishing network for retail executives, offering content focused on optimizing the customer experience across all channels.”

Follow them at: @rtouchpoints

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Retail Minded

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Smart Retailer

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Follow them at: @Smart_Retailer

Article we recommend: Optimize Your Retail Store Design and Increase Sales

 

 

Shopify

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Whizbang Training

Description: “Their complementary skill sets and diverse backgrounds give their company and retail trainers at WhizBang! Training a one-two punch of street-smart independent retail store owner and highly trained retail pro.”

Follow them at: @BobNegen

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Retail Digest Brought to you by Vend

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Follow them at: @theretaildigest

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Description: “Our mission is to advance the interests of the retail industry through advocacy, communications and education.”

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Holiday Results To-Date Strengthen The Omnichannel Message

 

               

Sales results from the 2014 Thanksgiving weekend further support retailers’ need to focus on a consistent brand message across all channels year-round, rather than comparing in-store sales on Black Friday to online sales on Cyber Monday.

 

“This year is likely to be the first time in nearly a decade that Black Friday won't be the biggest shopping day of the holiday season in terms of traffic and sales,” reported Robert Passikoff, Founder and President of Brand Keys, Inc., in the firm’s 20th Annual National Holiday Shopping Survey.

 

“This is due in part to the fact that retailers offer deals year-round and consumers have taken that to heart, and more stores are open on Thanksgiving Day,” Passikoff explained. “With the expansion of Black Friday into an entire season (aka November) more people are shopping on — or prior to — Thanksgiving.”

Looking at results from Thanksgiving weekend, many retailers may be discouraged. Total spending fell approximately 11% year-over-year to $50.9 billion, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF).

 

But e-Commerce sales increased 32% to $766 million on Thanksgiving Day and 26% to $1.2 billion on Black Friday, comScore reported. 

 

While online purchases are increasing more rapidly than brick-and-mortar sales, the store continues to be a vital component of the overall brand experience for shoppers. In fact, there were 233.3 total shopping trips over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, according to the NRF.

 

One trend that crosses both online and in-store is gift card purchases. Gift card sales — both plastic and digital — are expected to top all previous records during the 2014 holiday season. According to NRF’s Gift Card Spending Survey, the average person buying gift cards will spend $173, up from $163 in 2013. Total spending is expected to reach close to $32 billion, which is an 83% increase since NRF began tracking consumers’ intentions to buy gift cards as holiday gifts in 2003.

 

Gift recipients are on board with the trend. In an October NRF survey, 62% of consumers said they would like to receive a gift card, making gift cards the most requested gift item for the past eight years.

Holiday Results Q&A With Scot Wingo, CEO, ChannelAdvisor

Amazon, Large Format Retailers Win Out In Holiday Predictions

If you’re placing bets on which retailers will rack up the most sales during the 2014 holiday season, bet on the obvious. Amazon shoppers are planning to spend 9.9% more this year compared to last year, according to Prosper Insights & Analytics, in its report, titled: Holiday 2014: Retailers To Watch.

 

Other retailers expected to fare well this year include:

• Nordstrom, up 7.5%;
• Walmart, up 5.3%;
• Costco, up 5.2%;
• Kohl’s, up 3.0%;
• Best Buy, up 1.3%.

Pricing And Promotions Heat Up Competition As The Thermometer Drops

To remain competitive in the current, consumer-driven marketplace, retailers can’t wait around to launch their best prices and deals during the holidays.

 

As explained by Passikoff of Brand Keys: “As we predicted, with the intense competition for consumer dollars, department stores and specialty shops had to become more aggressive on deals, promotions, and operating hours this holiday season, and those realities are showing up in the real marketplace and on retailers’ bottom lines.”

 

Hopefully retailers will learn from their price and promotion inconsistencies last year, industry experts noted. “There was no consistent strategy or head-on competition among the retailers,” reported Amos Peleg Co-Founder and CEO of Upstream Commerce. “The average discount rate attained at both Amazon and Zappos (at different times in the scale), was 2.8%, but was only 0.5% for Macy's.”

 

Also during the 2013 season, Upstream Commerce examined pricing of the 20 largest athletic shoe brands at Amazon, Zappos and Macy's, finding that “each lowered its prices to start the holiday shopping season; and while Amazon discounted the most on Black Friday, it then raised prices the most for Cyber Monday.”

 

Peleg offered three key takeaways when it comes to holiday pricing strategies:

1. “Each retailer appears to dance to its own drummer with no consistently obvious strategy in relation to each other.”
2. “Although different products are considered, Amazon exhibits the same type of behavior each year, where it raises prices on Cyber Monday.”
3. “While there may be a smaller set of ‘show’ products that are actually being discounted, it's probably a myth that retailers provide huge discounts across the board during the holiday season.”

To help retailers determine where they stand in an endless sea of discounts and promotions, they can look to a WalletHub survey of 5,525 deals from the 2014 Black Friday ad scans of 21 of the largest U.S. retailers:

• JCPenney has the highest overall discount rate at 65%. Costco has the lowest at 21%.
• Jewelry is the most discounted category at 58%. Electronics & Computers are the least discounted at 30%.
• The average discount for Black Friday is 39%. 
• The Toys category has the most discounted items, representing 26% of all offers. The Consumer Packaged Goods category has the smallest, with only 1.3% of all offers.

Following is a breakdown of additional spending trends and takeaways from Thanksgiving — also called Gray Thursday — to Cyber Monday.

Thanksgiving Day Shopping Becomes A Holiday Hit, Boosts Store Sales 24%

Thanksgiving Day has evolved into a shopping holiday over the past three years. Not only did top retailers such as Walmart and Target open their doors earlier on Thanksgiving Day, but they also started their holiday doorbusters earlier than ever.

Although industry experts argued whether opening on Thanksgiving would help or hurt retailers, results are pointing to the former. Total in-store sales for the day were up 23.7%, with holiday shoppers spending a total of $3.19 billion, according to ShopperTrak.

The early openings were a success, bringing in12% more store traffic on Thanksgiving than 2013, according to data from Shopkick. In fact, 30% of all Black Friday store visits happened before midnight Pacific Time on Thanksgiving Day, representing an increase above 18% in 2013, 16% in 2012 and 13% in 2011. The data illustrated that in-store shopper traffic peaked on Thanksgiving Day at 6 p.m. PT, which is two hours earlier than the 8 p.m. peak time in 2013.

Despite the boost in store traffic and sales, e-Commerce and mobile shopping dominated Thanksgiving Day, with the IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark reporting that combined online sales increased 14.3% over 2013.

Online sales from desktop and laptop computers increased 32%, reaching $1.01 billion throughout the day, according to data from comScore. Online average order values (AOVs) on Thanksgiving Day were $179.59 per order, which was the highest total over the entire holiday weekend, according to Monetate.

Mobile traffic and sales experienced the highest year-over-year increase, according to the IBM Digital Analytics Bench report. Mobile traffic outpaced traffic from computer devices for the first time in 2014, with smartphones and tablets accounting for 52.1% of all online traffic. Mobile sales, on the other hand, accounted for almost one third (32.3%)of all online sales, representing a 25.4% year-over-year increase.

Mobile web sites accounted for 93% of retail revenue throughout the day, with only 7% coming from retailers’ apps, according to data from Skava.

After consumers finished their turkey dinners, they also turned to social networks to search for their favorite brands and keep track of discounts and offers. The IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark concluded that Facebook referrals drove an average of $107.73 per order, while Pinterest referrals averaged $95.24 per order.

Black Friday Underperforms Due To Thanksgiving Openings

While Black Friday has evolved to become a flagship spending day, Thanksgiving Day appeared to shake up spending patterns and consumers’ overall enthusiasm for the shopping holiday. Overall, 86.9 million shoppers either shopped in-store or online on Black Friday, a 5.5% decrease from 2013, according to data from NRF.

Total Black Friday spending in physical stores dropped 6.8% year over year to $9.10 billion, ShopperTrak data noted, while in-store traffic fell 6.6%, according to the U.S. Retail Benchmarks Report from Euclid Analytics.

E-Commerce fared more positive for retailers, with Black Friday online sales increasing 20.6% from 2013, according to a blog from Custora. Research from comScore indicated online sales from desktop and laptop computers alone jumped to $1.5 billion.

Online retailers in the Health & Beauty and Home Goods categories experienced the highest sales growth during Black Friday. Sales for Health & Beauty merchants increased 56.9% over 2013, while Home Goods stores experienced a boost of 43.2%.

Similar to Thanksgiving Day, more consumers were browsing and buying on their mobile devices on Black Friday. Approximately half (49.6%) of all online traffic on Black Friday came from mobile devices, a 25% year-over-year increase from 2013. Mobile also accounted for 27.9% of total online sales, up 28.2% from the 2013 results, according to the IBM Benchmark.

While social media as a whole drove only 1.7% of sales, email marketing had a major impact in driving online sales on Black Friday.More than one quarter (27.3%) of sales were attributed to retail emails, according to IBM. These email messages helped target customers and were sent less frequently than in the past. Retailers sent an average of 5.3 emails to shoppers this year, 11% less than Black Friday 2013.

Cyber Saturday Picks Up Steam

Although many retailers choose to take their time to reload in the days between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, in 2014 some decided to jump in to a cyber-themed weeks on Nov. 29 — leading to numbers well over last year's for Cyber Saturday. Amazon, for example, rolled out is Cyber Monday deals early.

This proved to be a hit with customers, and sales were up 45.9% over 2013, according to ChannelAdvisor. eBay, meanwhile, was up 14.9% over last year, and Google shopping jumped 19.7%. ChannelAdvisor reports that total e-Commerce growth year over year was 27%.

Data released by Monetate, a retail personalization technology provider, paints a similar picture. According to the company, shoppers initiated 30,518,366 sessions on e-Commerce sites on Nov. 29, which represents a 10.33% spike over Cyber Saturday 2013.

Mobile played a key role in the traffic increase, with both smartphone traffic — up 51.9% — and revenue — up 49.1% — well over last year's numbers. In total, tablets and smartphones accounted for 43.98% of all online traffic and 28.6% of sales. Other findings released by Monetate include:

• The average order value of all purchases was $150.77;
• Revenue per e-commerce session increased 14.8% year over year; and
• Conversion rates increased 10.3% year over year.

"The Black Friday hangover impacted retailers in a very positive way as there were significant spikes in traffic, revenue and conversions on the Saturday after Thanksgiving," said Lucinda Duncalfe, CEO, Monetate. "Mobile continues to drive this trend, as it appears that shoppers browsing on Black Friday decided to make purchases via smartphones and tablets on Saturday as many deals and specials continued online."

Despite the gains, data analyzed by the Salesforce Marketing Cloud indicated that shoppers might have been ready to take a break. Social media conversations concerning holiday shopping dipped to 606,325 on Cyber Saturday. Apple led the way in social chatter on Cyber Saturday with 10,000 posts, representing a 456% year-over-year increase. Walmart while still coming in second with 8,700 post, was 21% down over last year’s social conversations. The number one topic of those discussions was Cyber Monday, which suggested positive trends for e-Commerce sites leading into Dec. 1.

Has Cyber Monday Lost Its Luster?

Cyber Monday has acquired a history of having the best online sales and deals. But this year, as retailers started their discounting tactics earlier and earlier, was that still the case? Moreover, were consumers just as eager to shop on Cyber Monday, or was their time and attention elsewhere?

Based on the projected individual holiday spend of $855, Brand Keys estimated that Cyber Monday would only account for 35% of total spending. The Cyber Monday Expectations Survey from

Prosper Insights & Analytics, also indicated that 126.9 million consumers planned to shop on Cyber Monday, a slight decrease from 131.6 million in 2013.

“For today’s shopper, every day is ‘Cyber Monday,’ and consumers want and expect great deals, especially online, throughout the entire holiday season – and they know retailers will deliver,” said Matthew Shay, President and CEO of NRF. “Retailers will still offer unique deals exclusive to Cyber Monday, but consumers also know shopping on Cyber Monday won’t be their last chance to find low prices and exclusive promotions.”

Supporting Shay’s point, research from ShopSavvy indicated that some of the deals released on Cyber Monday are just hype, and truly are not as substantial as they suggest. Data from the top 100 retailers concluded that the Electronics category had the steepest discounts, with NewEgg offering 71% off on Cyber Monday. Men’s Warehouse came in second, offering a 58% discount on Cyber Monday. Across all retailers across categories, Nordstrom offered the most discounts, slashing prices on 20,057 products.

However, results have shown something different entirely. Desktop online spending on Cyber Monday reached $2.04 billion, representing the heaviest online spending day in history, according to comScore. This is the first time in e-Commerce history that online sales surpassed $2 billion in a single day.

“With more than $2 billion in online buying on Cyber Monday to cap an exceptionally strong five-day period since Thanksgiving, the online holiday shopping season is clearly going very well at the moment and is currently running ahead of forecast,” said Gian Fulgoni, Chairman Emeritus at comScore. “Any notion that Cyber Monday is declining in importance is really unfounded, as it continues to post new historical highs and reflects the ongoing strength of online this holiday season.

Varying reports have also indicated weakness in the consumer economy due to flagging brick-and-mortar sales over the holiday weekend, but what we may really be seeing is an accelerating shift to online buying as mobile phones spur increased showrooming activity. The data we’re seeing suggest it may be more a change in shopping behavior than a lack of consumer demand.”

Results from the IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark also pointed to Cyber Monday as the most popular day for consumers to shop, with online sales growing by 8.5% year over year. Mobile traffic also grew, accounting for 41.2% of online traffic, up 30.1% over 2013. Mobile sales also surged, reaching 22% of total Cyber Monday online sales. Although online traffic and sales surged on Cyber Monday, average order value experienced a slight downturn, falling 3.5% year over year to $124.21.

Retailers Get On Consumers’ “Nice Lists” Across All Channels

Sales trends and results confirm that consumers are leveraging a variety of channels to browse and buy. As a result, a multitude of retailers ramped up their omnichannel marketing and engagement tactics to make holiday shopping more seamless and enjoyable. Here are a few standout examples:

• Target is partnered with Google on the Art, Copy & Code project, which is designed to surprise and delight customers during the holiday season. Bullseye’s Playground is a mobile game experience that features the Target bull terrier mascot and other characters. In Target stores, guests can use Google’s Project Tango Development Tablet to interact with the Playground, which is presented as a 3D winter playground. The game also is available on personal mobile devices through Target.com/play. For every game played with Bullseye’s Playground, Target will donate $1 to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.
• Rue La La saw a surge in mobile sales and traffic through Thanksgiving weekend. With more than 13 million members, mobile accounts for 50% of total sales. The retailer saw mobile traffic peak at 8 p.m. ET. To celebrate the start of the holiday, Rue La La implemented a variety of campaigns, including the 12 Gift Steals program, which was a five-day series highlighting must-have gifts at exclusive pricing.
• Macy’s held a variety of doorbusters and contests to pique consumer interest and drive conversions. Black Friday deals started at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, and consumers had the chance to win digital gift codes to be used for Black Friday purchases. Using the Macy’s mobile app, shoppers scanned in-store QR codes to instantly win gift codes worth $10, $20, $50 or $250. Sharing details on overall performance for the weekend, CEO Terry Lundgren said in a Fortune article: “So far, people are gravitating to doorbusters — that has got their attention. There’s so much information online, so they’re doing that research and going right for those doorbusters.” 

The retailers that landed on consumers’ “naughty lists” were the once who didn’t ensure quality e-Commerce performance during one of the busiest weeks of the year. Best Buy, BaubleBar and HP all experienced site outages, while Cabela’s and Foot Locker experienced some instability throughout the weekend.

What's In Store For The Rest Of December?

The five day crunch between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday has now passed, but with a recent Credit Karma survey stating that three out of four shoppers avoid Black Friday and Cyber Monday, there’s still a long way to go before consumers wrap up 2014’s holiday shopping season.

The burning question now is how will the rest of the holiday season measure up? Cyber Monday got December up to a rousing start, and early projections for the rest of the month should encourage retailers.

In total, analysts at Mintel predict a 3% increase in spending throughout December. While this number does not beat last year’s 4% year-over-year increase, it represents a total spend worldwide of more than $57 billion, with nearly 13% coming from e-Commerce. 

Heavy shopping days remain in December, according to ShopperTrak – including the Super Saturday (Dec. 20), which the location-based analytics vendor predicts to be the heaviest in-store shopping day of the holiday season. Other dates to watch include Free Shipping Day 2014 (Dec. 18) and the second Saturday before Christmas (Dec. 13). In fact, ShopperTrak predict six of the top ten shopping days of the 2014 holiday season are still to come.

“While the holiday season is underway, it’s not too late for savvy retailers to still capture their piece of the holiday pie,” said Jeff Rohrs, Vice President, Marketing Insights, Salesforce Marketing Cloud. “Each moment in the customer journey matters just as much as the one that precedes or follows it. By focusing on the present moment at hand and making it unmistakably memorable, retailers can stand out amongst the holiday noise and take the customer one step closer to the next major milestone.”

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