During Black Friday 2016, a record £1.23bn was spent in the UK. With just 100 days until Black Friday 2017, we’re already excited to see what this year brings.
Thanks to our eCommerce Trends page, which looks closely at what is happening in the world of ecommerce, we are able to see trends as they are happening, and make predictions based on these findings. Here are 3 key ecommerce trends that we think retailers should be aware of on the lead up to Black Friday.
1. People will be buying sooner than ever
In the last couple of years, many retailers have decided to ditch the original one-day Black Friday sale, and instead, have opted to offer sales over a longer period. For example, last year, Amazon began its 35 days of deals, while Argos offered week-long Black Friday sales. We predict that this trend will become even bigger this year, with retailers of all sizes opting to take part in sales that begin ahead of Black Friday, and last longer than the traditional one-day period.
A consequence of this is that shoppers are becoming savvier, checking product prices across the sales period to ensure they are getting the best possible offer. So having an easy to navigate site with a great UX will help retailers enourmously.
2. Online shoppers lead the way
While online shopping rose by 25% on Black Friday, 2017, footfall on UK high streets decreased by 7%. Whereas, in the US, it seems that one in four shoppers bought in store – a very different outcome. But why?
The answer is simpler than it seems. In the UK, online shopping is simply more convenient for consumers as many are buying from their phones and tablets before and after work or their desktops during working hours. However, by contrast, in the US, more consumers are free to shop in store as Black Friday falls over the Thanksgiving holiday.
This year we are likely to see online purchases exceed the current record of 8 million, but we anticipate that footfall will once again decrease.
3. Mobile will soar…. even further
Last year, there was a 26% increase in overall traffic to ecommerce sites via mobile. Not only this, but smartphones accounted for 43% of all purchases. So, will we see mobile surpass desktop this year? Chances are, we will.
Savvy online retailers are starting to see the benefits of optimising their mobile sites, creating an improved user experience thanks to tools such as address validation and the ability to pay for items in the click of a button.
Is your site ready for the Black Friday frenzy? Register now for our webinar: How to increase your ecommerce conversions in the run-up to Christmas to discover simple to implement actions to improve your ecommerce store.