Cyber Week 2022 Recap
Every Shopper Matters This Holiday Season
With the ongoing pandemic, high inflation, and a looming recession affecting consumer confidence, many retailers and eCommerce websites faced unique challenges this holiday season. As a result, Cyber Week 2022 may not break earth-shattering sales records, which historically have increased yearly except last year. The holiday season looks different this year, and according to Adobe Analytics estimates, Cyber Week will bring in $34.8 billion overall.
Like in 2020 and 2021, many consumers (60% of holiday shoppers) begin shopping before Cyber Week to spread their holiday budget instead of spending a considerable amount at once. They also want to avoid out-of-stock notifications and delayed delivery times. According to a recent Gartner survey, 28% of consumers anticipate spending less during the 2022 holiday season to reduce spending. Even so, we expect shoppers to spend half of their holiday budgets over Cyber Week.
Online Shoppers Want a Frictionless Digital Experience
Earlier this year, we published The Ultimate Guide to Holiday Preparedness to help online and omnichannel retailers prepare for the busy holiday shopping season by delivering frictionless digital experiences.
Customer experience and trust mattered more than ever this holiday season. Leading retailers and eCommerce websites target customers with a more personalized, friction-free shopping journey across mobile and tablet, desktop, native mobile apps, and even in-store.
A recent ICSC holiday shopping season survey indicates consumers increasingly embrace omnichannel shopping to meet their needs. 94% of holiday shoppers, or 220 million people, will make in-store and online purchases.
Retailers and eCommerce websites that invested in omnichannel offerings during the pandemic and technologies to provide frictionless customer experiences will continue to grow. The National Retail Federation predicts holiday retail sales will increase by 6-8% this year. eCommerce holiday sales are included in the forecast and are expected to grow 10-12% this holiday season.
Cyber Week 2022 Recap
So, how did retailers and eCommerce websites perform? Let's take a look!
According to reports for all of Cyber Week, consumer spending increased more than 4% compared to last year for a record $35.27 billion in online sales. Also, for the first time, most online sales came from mobile devices (51%), compared to 46% in 2021.
For a look at how the fastest and slowest retail websites performed on Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday, check out each report below and how website performance problems can impact retailers.
Key Takeaways
- When it comes to Cyber Week 2022, inflation was top of mind for online holiday shoppers. Holiday promotions were important to shoppers looking for appealing bargains to offset the rising costs of essentials, such as food, housing, and fuel.
- Digital Commerce 360 found that more consumers comparison shopped due to high prices, and inflation caused consumers to make fewer purchases overall. Many concentrated their shopping even more on Amazon.
- Many retailers, such as Amazon and Target, offered holiday promotions much earlier in the season, partly in an attempt to unload excess inventory.
- More than ever, consumers are shopping on mobile. In addition, social commerce on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram is expected to double by 2025.
