Tag: black friday

By The Numbers: Mobile Commerce Made Up 1/3 Of Black Friday Online Sales

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Mobile shopping continues to rise in prominence as reports on this year’s Black Friday sales start to roll in. According to a report from Adobe, this past Black Friday set a new record in online sales with $3.34 billion, a 21.6% growth year-over-year. Mobile shopping accounted for $1.2 billion, about one third of the total online volume, a 33% y-o-y increase. Major retailers such as Amazon, Walmart, and Target reported that mobile traffic and sales were on the rise, with Target saying that 60% of its Thanksgiving sales were done on mobile devices.

While the total sales number from brick-and-mortar retail still dwarfs that of ecommerce, data from multiple reports suggest that it is in decline. Analytics firm RetailNext says net sales at brick-and-mortar stores fell 5.0% over the Black Friday weekend, while the number of transactions fell 7.9%. According to retail research firm ShopperTrak, physical store visits fell 1% during Thanksgiving and Black Friday when compared with one year ago.

What Brands Should Do
As ecommerce, especially mobile commerce, continues to grow and erode physical retail, brands and retailers can no longer simply rely on traditional distribution and sales channels to effectively reach a migrating consumer base. As the numbers show, retailers and brands operating physical stores will need to learn to properly utilize tools in mobile, email and social promotions to boost sales and update their retail strategies with a mobile-powered, omnichannel approach.

The Lab has extensive experience working with retail and CPG clients to develop and implement digitally-enhanced retail experiences. The recently-opened NYX Cosmetics store at Union Square is a proud showcase of our team’s work in crafting a digitally enhanced, innovative retail experience. If you’d like to learn more about how your brand can develop an omnichannel retail strategy and mobile-driven retail solutions, please contact our Client Services Director Samantha Holland ([email protected]) to schedule a visit to the Lab.

 

Sources: TechCrunch & Reuters

Black Friday Sales Up 13% From 2011

Posted on by Lab Team

It was a huge Black Friday weekend with the NRF reporting 59 billion dollars in sales, almost a 13 percent increase from 2011. Comscore also reported record e-commerce sales of over 1 billion dollars, led in part by a growth in the digital content category, which surged 29% from 2011 sales driven by growing smartphones and tablet adoption.  Branding Brand also released a report on smartphone e-commerce sales indicating that mobile optimized sites outpaced overall Black Friday growth— with a 221% year-over-year sales increase.

Black Friday Dwarfed By Single’s Day In China

Posted on by Lab Team

China’s biggest retail day is “Singles Day,” which is celebrated on November 11th and is a bit of an inverse Valentine’s Day in which people buy gifts for friends that are still looking for love.  E-Commerce sales for this year’s holiday were reportedly $4.6 billion— roughly four times e-commerce sales for Black Friday. With numbers like that it might just be a matter of time before Singles Day makes its way to the US.

Holiday shopping gets social

Posted on by Lab Team

blackfridayFacebookRetailers and sellers looking for innovative ways to reach their customers this holiday season are looking towards social media as an emerging marketing and business tool.  According to a study by Shop.org, almost half of retailers surveyed said they would increase their use of social media this holiday season. So it’s no surprise that to kick off the season, retailers from Best Buy to Barney’s used social networking sites on Black Friday to tell eager shoppers about bargains, discuss purchases, and help solve customer service issues.

Retailers continue to use contests and sweepstakes to help drum up holiday shopping excitement. Sears held a Facebook sweepstakes for lucky customers to win gift cards and buy items at Black Friday prices early. Continue reading “Holiday shopping gets social”

Holiday bounceback thanks to…robotic hamsters?

Posted on by Lab Team

Cepia LLC Russell Hornsby's Zhu Zhu PetsCan you feel it in the air? That brisk breath of air may not be the weather; instead it’s the sharp inhale as retailers who have spent as much as nine months preparing for the holidays step back, square their shoulders, and prepare to face what Holiday 2009 may bring.

Every product you see, ad you read, sale you line up for was carefully orchestrated last spring when retailers (and brands who sell into retail) made their call on Christmas. Those decisions came during perhaps the darkest hours of the macro-economic news fest, coming off one of the toughest holiday seasons on record.

Imagine being the buyer who had to commit to inventory, pricing and terms? It must have felt more like prognostication than retail merchandising. I have been asked a lot lately to make my own call on the holiday season. It’s easy to predict the worse. Continue reading “Holiday bounceback thanks to…robotic hamsters?”