As experts noodle the numbers from the kickoff to the
holiday weekend, bigger trends are emerging: According to Comscore, it’s becoming clearer the convenience of shopping via mobile devices is rewriting the retail calendar.
“It was
surprising to us just how powerfully spending was pulled ahead of Cyber Monday,” says Ian Essling, director of survey innovation at Comscore. “There was more spending on Thanksgiving, and
just seeing how aggressive shoppers were is a big change.”
Mobile was a key component of shopping on Turkey Day, he tells Marketing Daily. “People aren’t likely to
use laptops or desktops right after dinner, but you can pull out your phone and shop so easily, anywhere.”
In fact, 40% of sales came from mobile on Thanksgiving, higher than on Black
Friday or Cyber Monday.
What’s not clear is how retailers are going to adapt the deals they offer as timing becomes increasingly fluid, he says. “Four or five years ago, you could
hang your hat on Cyber Monday. Now, retail is going to have to adapt or be very aggressive. ”
Consumers swarmed to deals, with Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday all posting
digital spending gains of 28% or higher. Cyber Monday reached record sales of $6 billion.
Free shipping, offered on 81% of all transactions and 90% of desktop buys, is becoming more
vital; Comscore says 58% of U.S. consumers say it’s the most important factor.
Considering the strength of this year’s “Big Three” days, Comscore thinks the
digital holiday season is likely to finish at the high end of its forecast of between 18% and 19% of the year’s total.
But as retailers experiment with shifting promotions around the
holiday calendar, Comscore predicts consumers’ love of large-screen cellphones may lead to brand new “big” days: “We may even see entirely new days emerge as pivotal spending
milestones — for example, the weekend between Black Friday and Cyber Monday may take on a significantly larger role in the future,” its report says.
And Comscore is keeping a sharp
eye on smart speakers, which may emerge as the next device people use to shop. “Right now, there’s no visual feedback, which limits how comfortable some people feel using them for
purchases. But as these add screens, these may play a much bigger role.”