Verizon: E-commerce spikes as holiday nears

Online shoppers were busy as elves the weekend before Christmas.

According to the Verizon Holiday Retail Index, during the weekend of Friday, Dec. 20 – Sunday, Dec. 22, e-commerce traffic rose by double digits each day. Compared to Nov. 1-27, 2019, e-commerce traffic climbed 21% on Friday, Dec. 20, 21% on Saturday, Dec. 21, and 14% on Sunday, Dec. 22.

Verizon analysis indicates the combination of promotions and shipping deadlines drove solid results for the weekend. It was the last weekend for shoppers to meet ground shipping deadlines, and an uptick in e-commerce traffic shows that consumers were taking advantage of retailers’ promotions.

Now in its sixth year, the Holiday Retail Index tracks digital commerce traffic across Verizon’s networks to the top 25 U.S.-based online retailers and their subsidiaries. The Holiday Retail Index monitors network traffic throughout the holiday shopping season, including during major online sales events such as Black Friday and Super Saturday.