Spending per customer rose 18% and revenue grew 5% compared with the previous year: that’s the conclusion after analyzing Black Friday data from 200 online stores built on the LogiCommerce platform
Black Friday has just ended, and it’s time to draw conclusions and interpret the data it has left us. For some days we’d been seeing studies suggesting that consumers’ savings rate would be higher, and that the supposed supply shortages and possible price increases could make them more price-sensitive and encourage them to buy with deals and good prices. Given this situation, and after an unusual year, there were many unknowns. How did online consumers behave this year? Did they buy more or less than last year? Did the stronger presence of physical stores affect online sales during Black Friday?
At Trilogi we’ve analyzed the most relevant data from 200 online stores using the eCommerce platform LogiCommerce during Black Friday week 2021 (November 22 to 28), compared with the same Black Friday period the previous year. Don’t miss the data!
Higher spending and a larger average basket on Black Friday
This Black Friday, the average basket grew 18% compared with the previous year (from an average of €128 per buyer to €151), which means that even with 12% fewer buyers, 2020 revenue was exceeded by 5%.
The rise of buy-now-pay-later platforms, a greater focus on user experience and investment in marketing automation tools, together with consumers’ higher savings rate, have driven this revenue increase.
The average basket went from €128 to €151.
The full return of physical stores hasn’t weakened online sales on Black Friday
Although this year in-store sales were already strong during the Black Friday period, there was no drop in online commerce; quite the opposite. Traffic held steady compared with the previous year, with even a 2% increase in visits to online stores during ‘Black Friday’ week.
Traffic held at the same level as the previous year, despite the full return of physical stores.
As we noted in our post on omnichannel as the post-pandemic future of eCommerce, by applying an omnichannel strategy, in most cases customers have been able to enjoy a rewarding shopping experience across all of a store’s channels, whether finding the store through an ad or a Google search, asking about products via WhatsApp Business, or reserving a product online and picking it up in store, among many other options.
Fewer purchases from new customers on Black Friday
Last year saw a clear increase in purchases from first-time customers, but this Black Friday that trend slowed, with a 14% drop in new registrations during the period. The data shows how important repeat customers are for online sales, even more so at a time of year when people are bombarded with messages and product knowledge or a previous shopping experience become key.
New customer registrations at checkout fell 14% during Black Friday.
Electronics and furniture: the fastest-growing sectors on Black Friday compared with 2020
Electronics revenue rose 12% compared with the previous year, while furniture and home décor grew 22%. These two sectors saw the strongest revenue growth when comparing this year’s Black Friday period with the same period last year.
Furniture and home décor revenue grew 22%, and electronics 12%.
Fashion, footwear and accessories: the sector that has grown most on Black Friday compared with pre-pandemic levels
If we compare Black Friday 2019 figures with this year’s, we can conclude that fashion, footwear and accessories is the sector that has grown most since the pandemic. In revenue terms, it improved on its 2019 figures by 50%. This clearly shows a sector that is increasingly jumping on the discount bandwagon. Black Friday is no longer a period dominated by technology, electronics and computer stores over other sectors.
Fashion, footwear and accessories revenue is up 50% compared with pre-pandemic Black Friday.
In short, Black Friday is growing stronger year after year, and few businesses now choose not to energize their store with attractive deals and promotions for customers at this time of year.
