Adobe: So far, it’s a happy holiday for digital retailers

Initial online holiday shopping trends show impressive growth from 2018.

According to data from Adobe Analytics, $19.7 billion has been spent during the holiday season so far, representing a 17.5% increase from the same period in 2018. 
According to Adobe Analytics, Veteran’s Day benefited from being on a Monday this year, with consumers spending $2.7 billion, a 38% increase year-over-year when compared to the Monday of Veteran’s Day weekend 2018. 

More than one-third (34.5%) of all e-commerce holiday sales have been made on a smartphone, up 15% year-over-year. Season-to-date BOPIS spending has also seen strong growth, generating 26% more in sales than the previous year.

The data also shows consumers are seeing strong discounts as retailers push for early deals this season to try to offset the shorter period between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Based on promising early-season performance, Adobe is reaffirming its full-season forecast of $143.7 billion spent online from November – December 2019, representing 14% growth from the prior-year period.

Additional holiday insights include:
•    Every day has surpassed $1 billion so far this season, and two days have surpassed $2 billion, with the day before Veteran’s Day being a surprise.

•    Larger online retailers saw an 82.2% boost in revenue over an average day, while smaller online retailers only saw a 40.7% lift. 

•    The “Cash Back Day” Nov. 7 online sales holiday invented by RetailMeNot surpassing Adobe’s prediction for the day by 11%, falling just a few million short of $2 billion in sales.
 
“Holiday shopping has begun in earnest with consumers pouring onto retailers’ websites to find the early deals of the season,” said Taylor Schreiner, principal analyst, Adobe Digital Insights. “All signs point to strong sales growth this year, with consumers buying almost 50% more than last year just through their phones. And this may be one of the best years for consumers to date as promotional price discounts are much deeper than they were at this time last year – TV prices alone are down nearly 15% from October.” 

Adobe’s holiday data reports are based on the analysis of over 1 trillion visits to retail sites and 55 million SKUs. Adobe Analytics measures transactions from 80 of the top 100 U.S. online retailers.