Verizon: E-commerce traffic heats up as holidays approach

Consumers are becoming motivated to shop online as the last full week of holiday shopping begins.

According to the Verizon Holiday Retail Index, e-commerce traffic for the weekend of Dec. 14-15 increased 26.6% compared to the period of Nov. 1-27. Verizon analysis indicates the combination of promotions and shipping deadlines drove solid results for the weekend, which was the last weekend for shoppers to meet ground shipping deadlines. An uptick in e-commerce traffic suggests that consumers were taking advantage of the retailers’ promotions.

With the last full week of shopping off to a strong start, Verizon predicts retailers continue with aggressive promotions, leveraging minimum purchase volumes for free expedited shipping and the ability to leverage in-store pick-up. 

“The combination of promotions and shipping deadlines drove solid results for the weekend,” said Michele Dupre, Verizon leader for retail, hospitality and distribution. “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 the retailers’ promotions.”

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.