ECOMMERCE NEWS
Here's a good surprise: Cyber Week 2023 was a big hit! Contrary to the anticipated "chill" Cyber Week, shoppers went all out this year and spent $38 billion—a 7.8% increase from last year!
MarTech said Cyber Monday was the star of the show, pocketing $12.4 billion in total. Here's a rundown of what happened during the 5-day sales extravaganza:
What's more:
- Black Friday raked a whopping $16.4 billion! Discounts reached as high as 30%, but the growth figure is a tad slow at 7.5%.
- Convenience comes first, as 80% of shoppers opted for standard delivery, and 12.7% went for curbside pickup.
- Buy Online and Pickup In-Store (BOPIS) accounted for 24% of consumer traffic on Black Friday.
- In-store visits increased by 4.6% compared to Black Friday 2022 despite the 2.4% annual decline in foot traffic throughout 2023.
A promising holiday season ahead
December has already begun, but these numbers confirm that the rest of the holiday season is in full swing. Apparently, consumers are willing to spend—especially if there are enticing discounts and convenient shopping options.
All in all, the stage is set for a prosperous holiday shopping season. So, make sure to grab every sale opportunity and prepare your store for a strong year-end. 💯
TOGETHER WITH STACK INFLUENCE
Why you should let micro-influencers write your holiday success story
Want to increase your brand’s reach for a new product launch? Stack Influence’s marketing solution can help you get viral (in a good way)!
🍿 A success story
Let’s look at how an upcoming beauty brand, Neutralyze, increased its social media presence and organic traffic. With Stack Influence’s help, they achieved:
- 1,159 active influencer promotions in over 6 months
- 1,368,487 total social media post impressions
- 118, 253 total social media post engagements
- 1,083,016 total social media post views
What’s even more amazing is that they completed all promotions in just 2 months! Plus, they gained high-quality user-generated videos and photos with full license rights. 😯
🫵 Your story could be next
All you need to do is set up your campaign and let Stack Influence do its magic. 🪄
So, are you ready to make your brand bigger and better?
BITES OF THE WEEK
- Walmart Stations: Walmart is adding parcel stations, a.k.a. “mini post offices,” to its stores.
- TikTok Christmas: TikTok Shop’s first Christmas has shoppers divided between low prices and ethics.
- Amazon Wins: Temu and Shein have millions of holiday visitors but are still far behind Amazon in sales.
- Fri-yay: Adobe Analytics revealed Black Friday 2023 sales were nearly $10 billion!
- Record Breaker: Shopify merchants broke their Black Friday record with $4.1 billion in sales.
AMAZON NEWS
Chinese sellers are disappointed with Amazon’s Black Friday sales
Despite Amazon’s epic Black Friday record, Chinese sellers on the platform aren’t too happy with their sales. Their disappointment could be a big concern as they make up 63% of Amazon sellers—much more than U.S. ones.
In a report by Yicai Global, many sellers of household items, small home appliances, and daily necessities shared that this was their worst Black Friday. A big clothing brand that makes over $10 million a year also said their sales decreased by half!
🔍 What went wrong?
Amazon ran its Black Friday deals from November 17 to 24, almost immediately following its fall Prime Day. Because of this long sale period, shoppers became less impulsive in buying.
Also, there is tough competition from new ecommerce players that joined the Black Friday craze:
- Temu started its Black Friday warm-up on October 20, offering heftier discounts and coupons than Amazon.
- TikTok Shop’s Black Friday debut lasted from October 27 to November 30. It funded sellers to offer discounts of up to 50% to convince them to join the promotions.
- AliExpress invested a lot in Black Friday deals this year, going as far as stocking its warehouses with inventory 10 times larger than last year.
🔮 The future of Amazon
With the rising seller concerns, new ecommerce players, and ever-changing buyers’ behaviors, the future of ecommerce looks uncertain. And while Amazon won’t easily buckle in front of these hurdles, we can’t help but wonder if it can maintain a big edge over its emerging rivals.
HOT TOPIC
How will consumers shop this holiday season?
There have been a couple of predictions regarding how people will shop this holiday season. Some are optimistic, and others are a bit discouraging.
Regardless, retailers worry about how the buyers' unpredictable buying mood will affect their sales. The Seattle Times shared some insights into the "murky predictions" for the season.
🗣️ What are the consumers saying?
- Conference Board reported that consumers plan on spending an average of $985 on holiday items.
- Forrester's survey showed about 52% of consumers watch out for deals and special offers online and 39% plan to hunt for in-store sales.
- Amazon's October Prime Day numbers showed buyers spending an average of $144.53, a slight 2% increase from last year.
- Deloitte stated that 17% of buyers still pay student loans and plan to limit their holiday spending.
- There will be an increase in shoppers using Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) payment options.
In summary, people plan to spend this season wisely. This means sticking to their shopping lists, shopping early, and waiting for discounts. 🏷️
What does this mean?
It means holiday sales will be "decent" this year—just not as strong as those in the past years. According to Wells Fargo's senior economist Tim Quinlan, the higher rates and lower incomes will "make it tougher to have a big pile of presents under the tree this year."
💡 So, be smart in planning your investments and inventory. You don't want to stock more than you can dispatch, especially amidst the rapidly changing retail arena.
