Online sales hit record highs over Black Friday and Cyber Monday
The numbers are in following the conclusion of one of the biggest sales weekends on the retail calendar: Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
The statistics show a dramatic increase in online shopping. While shoppers were able to pick up bargains in store, footfall was down and there was an increase in the amount that was spent online through ecommerce platforms.
According to Adobe Analytics data, which analyses 80 of the top 100 U.S. retailers, digital sales on Black Friday reached $9 billion — a rise of 22 percent from Black Friday last year. Cyber Monday saw holiday shoppers spending $10.8 billion online, resulting in a 15.1% increase year over year, setting a record for the largest U.S. shopping day ever. Adobe further forecasts the entire holiday season’s online spending at $184 billion, which is a 30% increase from last year.
Smartphones continued to account for an increasing proportion of online sales, with this year’s $3.6 billion up 25.3%, while alternative deliveries — a sign of the e-commerce space maturing — also continued to grow, with in-store and curb side pickup up 52% on 2019.
This growth is fueled by both a shift in consumer behaviour and the transformative climate made by the pandemic cementing the fact that online shopping is the future of retail.
Ecommerce platform, Shopify, has reported record-setting Black Friday sales with Shopify merchants in Australia reporting growth of 80 per cent since last year.
“We’ve seen consumers across Australia and the world drive a boom in ecommerce this year that was previously forecasted for 2030. There’s been an acceleration in online shopping overall in 2020, and with many consumers concerned about delivery delays and getting their Christmas shopping on time, Black Friday presents an ideal opportunity to get their presents in a cost-efficient way,” said Shaun Broughton, APAC Director for Shopify Plus.
Retailers must be ready for multichannel management
As online sales have taken control over the past few years, online shopping and brick-and-mortar solutions need to be working in synchrony. COVID-19 has made in-store shopping more stressful to most consumers, so retailers need to be ready to offer a seamless multi-channel experience.
Even though the move to multichannel management with the addition of ecommerce is a new challenge for retailers, it is highly important. It is essential that brands today need to deliver a seamless experience to their customers by ensuring consistent pricing, accurate inventory reporting, and reliable delivery frameworks. Simply put, customers expect to have the same shopping experience regardless of whether they purchase through your website or at a physical store.
The best way to introduce this consistency is by having an ecommerce website that syncs with your physical store’s POS system. And with the advancements in technology and integrations, managing these two channels of business is becoming an even more seamless process.
Seamlessly manage multi-channel selling with Epos Now
Your point of sale system is crucial to your business. With the Epos Now cloud-based POS system you can seamlessly integrate your physical store with your online store and manage your data from one central location.
With the Epos Now POS system and e-commerce integrations, you can:
- Reduce the risk of selling out of products with accurate inventory management
- Reduce admin hours with automatic product updates
- Seamlessly share customer data between systems
