As families and friends were enjoying a feast of Thanksgiving Day turkey, creamy mashed potatoes, cranberry-orange relish, classic stuffing, and more tasty treats, our team was out there reviewing data on consumer behavior throughout desktop and mobile. From the anxiety-fueled claustrophobic shopping fever of Black Friday to the screen-centered focus of Cyber Monday deals, we were there in the trenches collecting valuable data.
Our recent webinar, 2016 Holiday Weekend: By the Numbers delved deep into how consumers search, compare, and purchase gifts this time of year.
Basis of our Webinar:
- Hourly search marketing and website data recording and analysis of our holiday retailers. (Aggregated holiday traffic was more than 11 million visits.)
- Data was captured separately for mobile and desktop.
- We used our proprietary customer intelligence technology, LXRInsights™, to gain deeper understanding of holiday consumer behavior.
What Surprised Us:
The Y/Y change overall for U.S. sales went up by 15%+. (See below)
Summary of Findings:
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Average Cost Per Click (CPC) increased by 4.1%, impressions increased by 23.9%, Conversions increased by 18.6%, and Average Order Value (AOV) declined by 5.1%.
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Voice-based searches grew by 200% YoY.
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57% of all mobile searches happened on Thanksgiving.
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“Near me” searches grew by 45% YoY.
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Orders by Day, Cyber Monday contributed the most at 39%. (Weekend was 30%, Black Friday was $20, Thanksgiving was 10%.)
What are our recommendations?
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Think mobile first.
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Perform search-term analysis specifically for mobile.
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Implement automated scripts to monitor the Cost Per Order (CPO) on a real-time basis and refine the mobile bids. (AdWords scripts to monitor mobile performance and change bids on a periodic basis can be implemented.)
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Enable ad extensions attuned to mobile. (i.e. call, message, price, etc.)
For even more recommendations, check out our Definite Holiday Checklist to help you prepare for the last few weeks of 2016.
If you missed out, now’s your chance to catch up on our webinar, our slides are available on SlideShare and full video available on YouTube.
