Digital sales over the festive season has grown 8% to $723 Billion globally, with AI powered search boosting sales, according to new data.
The 2019 Holiday Shopping Report from Salesforce, – which coincides with this year’s NRF 2020 – reveals the trends, data and insights brands and retailers need to prepare for the 2020 holiday shopping season.
Key findings include:
- Brands push consumers to start holiday shopping early: Retailers pushed out discounts and promotions earlier than ever. In the run up to Cyber Week, digital traffic grew 13% over the same period in 2018.
- AI eliminates guesswork for shoppers: AI powered search and product recommendations drove additional revenue for retailers this holiday season, as 10% of digital orders and 5% of digital revenue came from AI-powered recommendations.
- Cyber Week 2019 broke records: Global digital revenue grew 15% to $143 billion.
- Early season buying frenzy leads to late season softness: Digital revenues fell 26% year on year during the week leading up to Christmas.
- Retailers with click and collect win later in the season: Retailers offering click and collect on their ecommerce sites saw 56% more active digital shoppers – someone who uses a site search, adds product to cart, starts a checkout or completes a transaction – in the last five days of the season.
- Mobile reigns victorious: Mobile was the number one device driving digital traffic and orders.
Given the tough season faced by retailers in the UK, this research offers insight into the drivers behind that, and the areas in which retailers need to focus in order to succeed in the holiday season in 2020.
Source: Salesforce
