Salesforce: E-commerce traffic surges in Q4

A sharp increase in e-commerce during Q4 2019 led to other positive outcomes for digital retailers.

According to analysis from Salesforce, on a year-over-year basis, traffic to e-commerce sites grew 13% in Q4 2019. In addition, digital commerce rose 14% while shopper spend increased 1%. 

Mobile devices were a major factor driving e-commerce growth. Year-over-year, mobile purchases grew by 38% in Q4, with an average of 54% of digital orders driven by mobile devices. During certain high-volume days over the holiday shopping season, this figure peaked well over 60%. 

According to Salesforce, the increased prevalence of mobile wallet solutions (such as Apple Pay and PayPal) is contributing to changing shopper behaviors. In addition, Salesforce says the overall mobile shopping experiences are now more seamless and frictionless. Mobile shoppers offer digital retailers at least one advantage: mobile cart abandonment rates for the quarter measured 87%, the lowest rate recorded during the last nine quarters.

Digital traffic from social channels also reached new heights, breaking the double-digit barrier for the first time with mobile traffic from social channels topping 10% on peak days during the holiday season. Thirty-four percent of Gen Z shoppers report they seek out shopping inspiration from social media. 

Salesforce analyzed data from 1.9 billion visits from 500 million-plus shoppers at over 1,000 e-commerce sites during Q4 2019.