The holiday season has arrived. The month of October historically starts early holiday shopping and October 2020 is no different. Ushered in by Prime Day’s residual impact across non-Amazon sites,the lure of sales, and fear of stockouts and shipping delays, consumers are getting an early start to their holiday shopping.
Black Friday deals are looming as retailers extend promotions to capture early shoppers and lessen the strain on last-minute shipping. Keeping track of eCommerce trends and online shopping behaviors will help agile marketers capture an opportunity that comes their way.
We see some of the follow trends for October 2020 compared to October 2019:
- Food and Grocery eCommerce is growing at a rate unseen in a few months. While not hitting early March and April numbers from the start of the coronavirus pandemic, people appear to be preparing early for the holidays through triple digit increase in conversion rates, compared to last year.
- Orders by new shoppers are continually growing Y/Y across retail categories. Ensure a smooth transition for these new shoppers with a frictionless checkout experience. Engage new customers with surveys and on social media to understand their shopping experience with your brand.
- Mobile continues to play an increasingly important role in the online shopping experience. Consider offering mobile only deals to encourage impulse buys. Ensure your website has a mobile first approach to create a user-friendly experience.
The year-over-year changes from October 2019 to October 2020 are as follows:
Food and Grocery Ecommerce Trends
- Website conversions jumped 126%
- Transactions soared 70%.
- Average order value (AOV) rose 4%.
- Percentage of mobile orders rose 41%.
- Orders by new shoppers increased 74%.
Apparel Industry Ecommerce Trends
- Website conversions decreased 31%
- Transactions jumped 91%.
- AOV increased 3%.
- Percentage of mobile orders increased ust 1%.
- Orders by new shoppers skyrocketed 128%.
Gifting Industry Ecommerce Trends
- Website conversions increased 39%
- Transactions rose 36%.
- AOV increased just 2%.
- Percentage of mobile orders dropped 4%.
- Orders by new shoppers rose 29%.
Home Furnishing Ecommerce Trends
- Website conversions increased 7%
- Transactions skyrocketed 63%.
- AOV dropped 3%.
- Percentage of mobile orders soared 172%.
- Orders by new shoppers jumped 64%.
Pet Supplies Ecommerce Trends
- Website conversions increased 2%
- Transactions increased 34%.
- AOV dropped by 6%.
- Percentage of mobile orders rose 12%.
- Orders by new shoppers jumped 60%.
Tools and Hardware Ecommerce Trends
- Website conversions fell 17%
- Transactions jumped 45%.
- AOV increased just 6%.
- Percentage of mobile orders jumped 29%.
- Orders by new shoppers increased 31%.
For a deeper dive into how Prime Day, Election Day, and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic impacted eCommerce and online shopping behavior, join NetElixir’s latest webinar on the Road to Recovery: Real-Time Data on eCommerce Trends + Updated Holiday Season Forecast. You’ll gain insights into:
- Charting a successful path to recovery, starting with a successful 2020 holiday season
- Latest online shopper behavior and patterns across seven retail categories and actionable insights for your marketing mix
- The updated holiday season forecast for November-December with NetElixir’s 2020 Holiday ECommerce Sales Calendar
During the webinar, we will be releasing our 2020 Holiday eCommerce Sales Calendar, which highlights the key online sales days and underlying forces that may have an impact on sales this year. Register now at https://www.netelixir.com//webinar/.
