The 2019 Holiday Retail Index from Verizon just revealed eCommerce sales experienced big increases in the week before Christmas. As a matter of fact, this was the case for the index throughout the entire holiday shopping season starting on Black Friday.
Considering the holiday shopping season started later in the month, it didn’t affect consumers. Ecommerce saw a double-digit growth from 13% all the way to 32% in 2019. This is despite a slow start when retailers began offering Black Friday promotions on November 1.
Michele Dupré, Verizon’s leader for retail, hospitality and distribution, explains consumers waited until later in the month and didn’t let up. By the time Christmas rolled around, the eCommerce shopping was in full swing.
In the release for the report Dupré goes on to say, “In the last full weekend before Christmas, we saw a spike in eCommerce traffic with double-digit increases for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Consumers were enticed both by promotions on Super Saturday and incentives for expedited shipping.”
The 2019 Holiday Retail Index
The Verizon Holiday Retail Index tracks digital commerce traffic across the company’s network in the top 25 online retailers in the U.S. It monitors network traffic throughout the holiday shopping season, including major online sales events.
With this data, Verizon then provides consumer shopping insights to retailers, distributors, hospitality organizations and other industries. This is the sixth year of the report.
December Results
In the days leading to Christmas, Verizon says there was an increase of 16% eCommerce traffic on Monday, December 23. On Tuesday, December 24 the increase in eCommerce traffic jumped to 32%. The result for both is from the comparison from November 1-27.
For the last weekend before Christmas (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) traffic in eCommerce also had double-digit increases. This was driven by promotions on Super Saturday as well as incentives with expedited shipping by retailers to ensure on-time delivery by Christmas day.
The traffic was up by 15% on Friday, December 20; 21% on Saturday, December 21; 14% on Sunday, December 22. In 2018 Cyber Monday fell on November 26, which further highlights the short holiday shopping season in 2019.
Earlier in the month or December 17, eCommerce traffic was up by 26.6%. But it all started with Cyber Monday, which on December 2 this year. Nevertheless, the traffic was up by 13%.
The Growth of eCommerce
The growth of eCommerce is increasingly taking a larger share of traditional retail sales. And although it only represents around 10% of sales in the U.S., it is growing. According to eMarketer, global eCommerce sales will increase to 16% of all sales in 2020, a 19% increase.
For small business owners, it means more opportunities because you can sell your products online to anyone around the globe. That is to say, you don’t have to wait for the holiday shopping seasons to increase your sales. Granted the sales during the holiday shopping season are nice, but you now have more options because of eCommerce.
With the available technology, you can optimize your online store so you can start taking advantage of the opportunities in the market place. The recent study released by Jungle Scout highlights this very point.
According to the report from the study, new sellers on Amazon are earning between $26,000-$810,000 per year in profits. New sellers can be individuals, small businesses or even large companies. The point is, there are many opportunities.
Whether you are an individual or a small business, Amazon is just one of the many platforms you can use to supplement your income or create a full-time business.
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