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Black Friday/Cyber Monday Demonstrate It's All E-commerce

I’ve been talking for a while about how big e-commerce is, noting that it’s all e-commerce, really (also here and here). Holiday shopping data this year, including both Black Friday and Cyber Monday, underscores the point (all data from Coremetrics):

  • Black Friday spending increased some 26%.
  • Cyber Monday sales increased 33% from 2010.
  • 14% of Black Friday shopping happened on mobile devices, up from only 5.6% in 2010
  • Almost 7% of Cyber Monday’s “online” sales happened on mobile devices.

Mobile is clearly a huge factor here. In fact, in September, mobile retail increased 95% from 2010, with many other categories seeing 50% growth or better.

Of course, the real proof that e-commerce is everywhere is this: Cyber Monday is dying. According to eXelate (yes, that is how they spell their name):

“Cyber Monday, the term coined in 2005 when shoppers opted to take advantage of faster broadband Internet in the workplace to do their online shopping, might be coming to an end.

Based on data eXelate compiled from measuring billions of real-time, online consumer interactions, online retail shopping was 14% stronger on Mondays than on Fridays in November 2011 , and therefore the actual gain from Black Friday to Cyber Monday was far less significant.”

For years, e-commerce has thrived due to its “shop where you want, when you want” ethos. But adding mobile to the mix increases the benefits of e-commerce for consumers. Now, your customers can shop where they want, when they want, even if they’re standing in your store. The question is less about why customers should buy—the reasons are all around them. Instead, you should focus on answering the question of why they should buy from you.

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Tim Peter is the founder and president of Tim Peter & Associates. You can learn more about our company's strategy and digital marketing consulting services here or about Tim here.

This Post Has 3 Comments

    1. Hi Duran,

      Thanks for the comment. I haven’t seen much good data yet about exactly what people are buying with their mobile, but I can tell you from personal experience, that I’ve purchased things from Amazon (not just e-books), Zappos and Staples via my mobile phone while standing in stores (sorry, brick and mortar folks). I’ve also booked Continental flights, researched and booked hotels on Expedia and hotel brand sites, and gotten movie and concert tickets via mobile phone and my iPad. In fact, once I did almost all of the above during halftime of my daughter’s soccer game (Go Blue Devils!) While you need to watch for the “focus group of one” syndrome, the data that I have seen supports that I’m not the only one doing this.

      The key is that mobile is a situation, not a device. I used my mobile phone or my iPad because it was a convenient way for me to accomplish my goals while away from my “computer.” (Ignoring, for the moment that an Android, iPhone or iPad is a computer). Consumers do what’s easiest for them. If the easiest way to get the best price or the right product is while they’re waiting in line for a movie, that’s now no longer an obstacle to accomplishing their goals.

      Thanks again for reading and for your great comment. Look forward to hearing more from you in the future.

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