Adobe said based on Adobe Analytics* data, U.S. online spend totaled $188.2 billion over November and December, which represents 32.2 percent growth year-over-year.
More record-breaking numbers include:
- Average daily online revenue exceeded $3.1 billion during the holiday season, up from $2.3B last year (32 percent growth year-over-year);
- For the first time, every day of the holiday shopping season exceeded $1B in online sales. In addition, there were
50 days with revenue above $2B (up from 29 last year), and nine days where online spend exceeded $4B, including Thanksgiving Day (over $5B), up from three $4B days in 2019; - Curbside pickup/BOPIS orders grew 36 percent year-over-year, but growth dropped to 26 percent over the seven days leading up to Christmas Day; and
- Smartphones accounted for 40 percent of the holiday season’s eCommerce growth (11 percent growth year-over-year)
Additional Adobe Analytics Insights Include:
- Cyber Week growth slower compared to the overall season: While the full five-day weekend (Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday) saw 21 percent growth year-over-year (YoY), totaling $34.4B, the percentage growth paled in comparison to the overall season, which came in at 32 percent YoY due to retailers’ efforts to shift consumer spending early on in the season.
- Smartphone growth: For the first time, more than half of online spending came from smartphones on Christmas Day. Christmas Day 2020 saw over half (52 percent) of its $1.3B online spend coming from smartphones.
- Product category winners and losers: Throughout the holiday season, groceries, appliances and books saw major boosts over October levels compared to 2019 — groceries at 404 percent higher than 2019, appliances at 202 percent and books at 107 percent. Toys and jewelry categories saw incremental boosts — toys seeing 50 percent and jewelry 66 percent growth over 2019.
- E-commerce giants vs. smaller retailers: Small retailers ($10M to $50M in revenue) saw a bump in online sales early in the pandemic, but that edge dissipated during the holiday season as large retailers ($1B+) increased their efforts on attracting customers. However, the difference in boosts for the 2020 holiday season was much closer at 110 percent for large versus 104 percent for small retailers, compared to 2019, at 107 percent for large and 84 percent for small.
Taylor Schreiner, director, Adobe Digital Insights, said, “In light of the pandemic, digital has become the primary way for people to connect, work, be entertained and shop, helping set online spending records for the holiday season at $188.2B, which represents 32.2 percent YoY growth. With online shopping already heightened coming into the season due to early discounting and improved mobile shopping experiences, we saw revenue levels increase over Thanksgiving week and give way for record-breaking Black Friday and Cyber Monday at $9B and $10.8B respectively. Now, as COVID-19 cases continue to rise and more stringent lock-down measures return, online spending is expected to stay elevated, at least for the early part of 2021.”
*Adobe Analytics analyzes one trillion visits to U.S. retail sites, 100 million SKUs and 80 of the 100 largest retailers in the U.S.
Photo courtesy AP
