Data & Analytics

Cyber Monday, the day of the year that traditionally sees the highest volume of digital shopping transactions, falls this week. In honor of the occasion, I’d like to offer three tips on how to keep the spirit of Cyber Monday alive throughout the year.   Obviously retailers cannot afford to offer Cyber Monday-level online bargain prices all year long, but there are several non-monetary steps they can take.   Make It Personal

Improved e-commerce and marketing strategies are among the reasons Shoe Carnival President and CEO Cliff Sifford cited for the company’s increase in same store sales.

New York - Across the country, there was strong support for local businesses on Small Business Saturday, with shopping up 14.9% from last year, according to the results from the Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey, released today by American Express and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).    

Move over pumpkin pie: Black Friday fervor seemed to stir up more conversations on social media than the Thanksgiving holiday itself.

According to Salesforce.com, social media posts about Black Friday shopping numbered 2.7 million. Roughly 278,000 posts were stamped with the hashtag "#blackfriday" and another 8,000 were labeled "#deals," vs. just 85,000 with "#Thanksgiving."

There were also about 1.84 million holiday shopping posts on Thanksgiving Day, and about 719,000 posts the day before Thanksgiving.

New York — More consumers (40%) say they plan to shop on Cyber Monday than Black Friday (36%). According to a new survey of 1,000 consumers from Verizon Wireless and KRC Research, people in the West (39%) are most likely to go shopping on Cyber Monday compared to other regions (33% Northeast, 36% South, 36% Midwest).

San Francisco — There has been a 112% increase in mobile traffic to retailer websites in the past year while desktop traffic dropped 4%. According to analysis of billions of user sessions to U.S. retailers’ desktop and mobile websites and apps between October 2013 and October 2014 by mobile solutions provider Skava, mobile Web accounts for 85% of total traffic for retailers, dominating mobile apps’ 15% share.

 

Grand Rapids, Mich. — Meijer is offering a 20% coupon on Monday, Dec. 1, which it is calling “Digital Monday,” through its mPerks digital loyalty program. The mPerks Monday promotion includes a 20% coupon through mPerks that can be used on one electronics, apparel or general merchandise item.

Meijer credit card customers who have a 15% reward coupon can use it in addition to the mPerks Monday. The coupon will be available for mPerks subscribers to clip Nov. 30 through Dec. 1 and will only be available for use on Dec. 1.

Data migrations and system upgrades usually require at least some downtime. In fact, 81% of companies schedule migrations overnight or on weekends when fewer people are working, and fewer customers can potentially be disrupted by downtime. Particularly in this era of 24/7 online ecommerce, some degree of business risk always accompanies downtime.

 

Downtime costs the retail industry $18 billion annually, according to market research firm IDC. But it doesn’t have to.