Salesforce: Mobile is MVP of $31 billion 'Cyber Week'

Digital commerce revenue was up 15% over last year during Cyber Week (the Tuesday before Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday), ringing in at a record $31 billion.

That’s according to data from Salesforce, which said that global mobile orders were the  breakout star of Cyber Week, as buying reached 55% (up from 50% in 2018), driving the most digital traffic and orders of any device.  Mobile devices globally drove 73% of all digital traffic, up from 66% in 2018. 

In addition to spikes in mobile usage, social buying through mobile also hit an all-time high—growing 41% since 2018 and making up 7%  of mobile orders on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, a peak day. 

Here are Salesforce’s top holiday shopping insights.

• Retailers with click and collect will win later in the season: E-commerce sites offering in-store order pickup will see big gains late in the season, as shoppers scramble to complete their last minute holiday purchases. Retailers offering this capability on their e-commerce sites will see 48 percent more active digital shoppers and collect 28 percent more digital revenue share in the last five days leading up to Christmas.
• AI eliminates guesswork for shoppers: AI-powered search and product recommendations gave shoppers exactly what they were looking for—when and where they were looking for it. Up to 9% of digital orders during Cyber Week were a result of AI-powered product recommendations. Shoppers that purchased products from AI-powered recommendations bought 12% more units per transaction across Thanksgiving and Black Friday compared to peers who did not purchase from AI-powered recommendations. 

• Consumers come out early to research, but save purchases for Cyber Week: Early marketing activity was successful in generating buzz ahead of Cyber Week. During Pre-Cyber Week (November 19 - November 25), digital traffic was up 13%  from 2018. Shoppers filled their online baskets, but held out for bigger deals in the week ahead. The strategy paid off, with digital orders growing to 18%  during Cyber Week this year. 

"With a shorter holiday season, the pressure was on brands and retailers this Cyber Week," said Rob Garf, VP of strategy and insights for retail and consumer goods, Salesforce. "Driven by savvy shoppers looking for convenience, personalization and speed before the holiday shopping window closes—winners broke down the friction between inspiration and purchase with artificial intelligence, click and collect and improved mobile usability.”