Black Friday cross-border e-commerce sales up 15%

Consumers across the globe joined the U.S. in Black Friday shopping.

International online Black Friday same-store sales rose 15% compared to 2019, according to data from cross-border e-commerce provider eShopWorld. In addition, total e-commerce sales growth in the week ending on Black Friday increased 29% year-over-year as the pandemic continues to impact physical shopping, with in-store drastically reduced globally.
 
The new data follows early figures showing international online same-store sales increased by 88% over the first two weeks of November. 
 
“This year both October and November have seen unprecedented levels of demands as the seismic shift to online continues unabated,” said Tommy Kelly, CEO of ESW. “This surge in digital spend has also been magnified by shoppers bringing forward their Christmas gift-buying to take advantage of discounting and to ensure they aren’t caught out by fulfillment delays, which many experienced earlier in the year during the first wave of the pandemic.”
 
With several weeks of peak holiday shopping still to come, cross-border online sales growth is set to continue, ensuring Christmas 2020 will be a predominantly digital event, according to ESW.

“Looking ahead to 2021, customer behavior is unlikely to pivot back, so to reap the benefits of this shift, retailers should double down on their digital readiness, target non-domestic markets, and meet demand at its point of origin, by offering localized shopping experiences where e-commerce customers in every geography feel as if they are receiving the same level of service and convenience they would enjoy if shopping locally,” Kelly added.

ESW’s sales data reveals the top 10 markets for year-over-year cross-border sales on Black Friday with Thailand (201%), France (106%) and India (104%) recording the highest increases as the most prevalent emerging international e-commerce markets.