Mobile Traffic Hits High Note on Black Friday/Cyber Monday
The sales results for Black Friday and Cyber Monday are in, and aside from signaling growing consumer confidence with record breaking totals, the statistics point to another key consumer trend: Mobile shopping is on the up and up.
According to comScore, Inc., Black Friday saw $816 million in online sales, representing a 26 percent increase versus Black Friday 2010. Fifty million Americans visited online retail sites on Black Friday, representing an increase of 35 percent versus year ago. Each of the top five retail sites achieved double-digit gains in visitors versus last year, led by Amazon. Walmart ranked second, followed by Best Buy, Target and Apple.
Likewise, Cyber Monday reached $1.25 billion in online spending, up 22 percent versus year ago, representing the heaviest online spending day in history and the second day on record to surpass the billion-dollar threshold. An IBM Benchmark Report similarly reported that online sales were up 33 percent over 2010, with consumers pushing the average order value up from $193.24 to $198.26 for an increase of 2.6 percent.
Record-Breaking Mobile Sales
What’s interesting is that 2011 marked a banner year for mobile traffic on a number of fronts. According to IBM’s data, Black Friday witnessed the arrival of the mobile deal seeker who embraced their devices as a research tool for in-store and online bargains. Mobile traffic increased to 14.3 percent on Black Friday 2011 compared to 5.6 percent in 2010.
On Cyber Monday, 10.8 percent of people used a mobile device to visit a retailer's site, up from 3.9 percent in 2010. Additionally, mobile sales grew dramatically, reaching 6.6 percent on Cyber Monday versus 2.3 percent in 2010.
PayPal Mobile announced a six-fold (552 percent) increase in global mobile payment volume on Cyber Monday 2011 compared to Cyber Monday 2010. There was also a more than four-fold (397 percent) increase in the number of customers shopping through PayPal Mobile on Cyber Monday 2011 compared to last year.
Apple’s iPhone and iPad ranked one and two for mobile device retail traffic (4.1 percent and 3.3 percent respectively), according to IBM. Android maintained its position in third at 3.2 percent comparatively. And shoppers using the iPad also continued to drive more retail purchases than any other device with conversion rates reaching 5.2 percent compared to 4.6 percent.
The Social Influence
Social media touted a smaller but still significant impact on sales. Shoppers referred from social networks generated 0.56 percent of all online sales on Cyber Monday versus 0.53 percent on Black Friday. Similar to Black Friday, Facebook led the pack on Cyber Monday and Black Friday alike, accounting for 86 percent and 75 percent of all social media traffic respectively.
Discussions on social media sites leading up to Cyber Monday increased in volume by 115 percent compared to 2010. Top areas of discussion focused on consumers sharing tips about using price comparison web sites while avoiding cyber scams, Cyber Monday deals for international consumers and conversations about Black Friday in-store shopping experiences.
According to comScore, Inc., Black Friday saw $816 million in online sales, representing a 26 percent increase versus Black Friday 2010. Fifty million Americans visited online retail sites on Black Friday, representing an increase of 35 percent versus year ago. Each of the top five retail sites achieved double-digit gains in visitors versus last year, led by Amazon. Walmart ranked second, followed by Best Buy, Target and Apple.
Likewise, Cyber Monday reached $1.25 billion in online spending, up 22 percent versus year ago, representing the heaviest online spending day in history and the second day on record to surpass the billion-dollar threshold. An IBM Benchmark Report similarly reported that online sales were up 33 percent over 2010, with consumers pushing the average order value up from $193.24 to $198.26 for an increase of 2.6 percent.
Record-Breaking Mobile Sales
What’s interesting is that 2011 marked a banner year for mobile traffic on a number of fronts. According to IBM’s data, Black Friday witnessed the arrival of the mobile deal seeker who embraced their devices as a research tool for in-store and online bargains. Mobile traffic increased to 14.3 percent on Black Friday 2011 compared to 5.6 percent in 2010.
On Cyber Monday, 10.8 percent of people used a mobile device to visit a retailer's site, up from 3.9 percent in 2010. Additionally, mobile sales grew dramatically, reaching 6.6 percent on Cyber Monday versus 2.3 percent in 2010.
PayPal Mobile announced a six-fold (552 percent) increase in global mobile payment volume on Cyber Monday 2011 compared to Cyber Monday 2010. There was also a more than four-fold (397 percent) increase in the number of customers shopping through PayPal Mobile on Cyber Monday 2011 compared to last year.
Apple’s iPhone and iPad ranked one and two for mobile device retail traffic (4.1 percent and 3.3 percent respectively), according to IBM. Android maintained its position in third at 3.2 percent comparatively. And shoppers using the iPad also continued to drive more retail purchases than any other device with conversion rates reaching 5.2 percent compared to 4.6 percent.
The Social Influence
Social media touted a smaller but still significant impact on sales. Shoppers referred from social networks generated 0.56 percent of all online sales on Cyber Monday versus 0.53 percent on Black Friday. Similar to Black Friday, Facebook led the pack on Cyber Monday and Black Friday alike, accounting for 86 percent and 75 percent of all social media traffic respectively.
Discussions on social media sites leading up to Cyber Monday increased in volume by 115 percent compared to 2010. Top areas of discussion focused on consumers sharing tips about using price comparison web sites while avoiding cyber scams, Cyber Monday deals for international consumers and conversations about Black Friday in-store shopping experiences.