Mid-Season Adjustments to Boost Holiday Sales and Profits

With Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday and now Green Monday behind us, the early results of ecommerce spending in the critical holiday season are beginning to be reported. So far, the results are positive.

Cyber Week Sets Online Sales Records

According to reports by Adobe Analytics, consumers spent $35.3 billion across Cyber Week, an increase of 4% over 2021’s numbers. Cyber Monday grew by 5.8% to $11.3 billion, and during the peak hour of Cyber Monday (8PM to 9PM Pacific time) consumers were spending $12.8 million per minute.

Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday have all broken sales records, and Adobe now predicts ecommerce spending for the entire holiday season to hit $210.1 billion, an increase of 2.75% over 2021.

Same-Day Omnichannel Services Shine

Many retailers are reporting great increases in same-day omnichannel services. For instance, Target reported that same-day store pickup accounted for half of the orders placed on the morning of Black Friday. Overall, digital orders fulfilled by same day services increased by more than 20% over Cyber Week 2021. Consumers are demanding a combination of the convenience of online shopping with the fun of the in-store holiday shopping experience, making same-day store pickup a must-have.

Some Retailers Are Winning the Holiday Shopping Season

A DigitalCommerce 360 article highlighted a number of retailers and their success or challenges during Cyber Week. While the year over year numbers for all ecommerce spending show relatively modest increases, some companies have captured a larger portion of that spending through strategic ecommerce investments throughout 2022.

For instance, Cusinart.com increased their Cyber Week sales 71% over 2021 numbers, driven largely by increases in average order value. At other retailers, finding the right price point to meet consumer demand during this period of record inflation has proven to be important - at Monoprice, sales increased over 2021 primarily through a focus on promoting higher priced products with free shipping. However, at Laguna Pearl, sales increased thanks to a focus on lower-priced, higher-volume products.

Others Retailers are Struggling

Gifts For You, Kids Art Box and QueerlyDesigns all reported Cyber Week struggles to DigitalCommerce360. In each case, these retailers seemed to stick to the same marketing strategies and promotions they used in 2021, with QueerlyDesigns even indicating that they were offering fewer and less extensive promotions than 2021 and attributing that to the drop in sales.

Mid-Season Adjustments for Retailers to Consider

Looking at these early results and the wide range in results from retailer to retailer, it’s clear - if you haven’t adjusted your marketing message and promotions to meet consumers where they’re at in 2022, your holiday sales will be down or at best a slight increase. It’s critical to provide discounts, free shipping and promotions and as we enter the end of the holiday shopping season, retailers with brick and mortar stores absolutely must offer a convenient, reliable, fast store pickup experience to capture the last minute holiday shoppers.