yc-blog-featured-11.26.18

E-Commerce Busts Another Record

E-Commerce Busts Another Record

E-commerce marketers, smile big and congratulate yourselves. Your diligence, dedication, and creative genius have paid off. Just glance at the early projections. According to distinguished number crunchers, Thanksgiving Day’s online sales have gone to the moon.

Current estimates see turkey day generating $3.7 billion in solid online revenue.  That’s a 28% jump from last year’s haul. True, the official number will remain a mystery until the final dollar is tallied. But no matter. What’s significant is this – it’s only Day 1 of the holiday shopping season. The retail world has just left the launch pad. How far it will go is anyone’s guess. As things stack up, it appears to be a long, long way.

Thanksgiving Day gives brand marketers a new nut to crack. Once a warm-up act for glorious Black Friday, it’s now in the retail limelight. In fact, based on current revenue projections, Thanksgiving is among the fastest-growing e-commerce days.

Robust figures make it easy to be optimistic. According to Adobe Analytics data, online sales climbed to $1.75 billion by late afternoon of Thanksgiving Day. Were folks shopping and munching simultaneously? Sneaking purchases between bites of drumstick and pumpkin pie? Unknown. Perhaps next year’s research will plumb those depths.

While the revenue pace is picking up, so is the shift toward smartphone shopping. Apparently, people want to do things the convenient and easy way. What a surprise.

Currently, smartphones are delivering a hefty 54.4 % of e-commerce traffic. Desktops and tablets have experienced a somewhat different fate – their share of e-commerce traffic has slipped. As expected, the trend shows no signs of reversing. Something for brand marketers to consider when crafting their holiday campaigns.

If you have questions or comments about e-commerce marketing during the holiday season, or about any other brand-related topic, feel free to send them our way.