Black Friday is the Busiest US shopping day of the year; Cyber Monday the busiest for online shopping

Black Friday sales will top $7.5 billion on November 29 – up 20.3% from 2018, while Cyber Monday sales are predicted to hit $9.4 Billion on December 2 – up 19%, according to Adobe Analytics.

Black Friday is the busiest US shopping day of the year and has been every year since 2005. A staggering 151 million people went to shopping malls or centers on Black Friday in 2018, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers.

The term Cyber Monday, was coined in 2005. Many consumers, who were too busy to shop over the US Thanksgiving weekend, shopped for bargains online on Monday from home or work. Cyber Monday in 2018 was the biggest US online shopping day in history.

The five days between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday will account for 20% of total holiday US retail spending – so for retailers these five days are critical.

Millennials are now the largest group in the US workforce and their lives are smartphone centric. Smartphone sales will account for 50% of the seasonal sales growth in 2019. And on Christmas Day consumer will purchase more on their smartphones than on desktop for the first time ever, predicts Adobe Analytics.

Smartphone purchases are 21% smaller by dollar volume, as consumer leave larger purchases for researching on bigger laptop and desktop screens, notes Adobe Analytics.

The best days for shopping online, based on retailers’ past discounting practices are: On Black Friday, appliances are discounted by 9%, while you can save 6% on sporting goods. On December 1 a toys are 32% cheaper and computers discounted 18%. While you can save 19% on televisions on Cyber Monday; on Boxing Day, electronics are typically 27% cheaper. These prices are tracked by Adobe Analytics

The growth of eCommerce has profoundly impacted US retailers. Online shopping in 2018 accounting for more than 16% of all US retail sales.

Here’s a staggering statistic: Amazon is now worth double of the following eight retailers ADDED TOGETHER! Those eight retailers are Walmart, Best Buy, Kohl’s, Target, Nordstrom, Macy’s JC Penny and Sears. (market valuations as of November 19, 2019):

But eCommerce in the US pales in comparison to online sales for Alibaba’s Singles Day.

China introduced the one child policy in 1979 to slow it’s population growth. Culturally Chinese families wanted a male child, so female children were adopted out to other countries. As a result, today in China there are 34 million men who will never have a partner.

In response to this phenomenon Alibaba – the Amazon of China – created Singles Day, which is represented by 11.11 (November 11). In North America we will buy a gift for our beloved on Valentine’s Day – but on Singles Day in China you buy a something for yourself.

Two weeks ago, on November 11, sales on Alibaba’s Singles Day sales exceeded $38.4 Billion in a 24 hour period. Alibaba – a single retailer – achieved sales that are double the sales of Black Friday AND Cyber Monday from ALL US retailers combined both online and in store.

The key insight coming out of this fact is that eCommerce will continue to grow explosively. China’s Alibaba is showing the way:

Combined Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales are expected to hit $16.9 billion. This figure is for all US retailers, all in store locations and online combined. It will be less than half the sales that Alibaba achieved in just 24 hours. Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined sales in 2018 totalled $14 billion.

Jim Harris is a leading international disruptive innovation speaker. His last book Blindsided is published in 80 countries worldwide and is a #1 international bestseller. You can see one of his talks at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbfRPztsKLY

Jim Harris is one of the Top 50 digital influencers in the world.

For interviews, contact Jim Harris, jim@jimharris.com or by calling (416) 388-3432.

‍

Heading 1

Heading 2

Heading 3

Heading 4

Heading 5

Heading 6

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.

Block quote

Ordered list

1. Item 1
2. Item 2
3. Item 3

Unordered list

• Item A
• Item B
• Item C

Text link

Bold text

Emphasis

^Superscript

_Subscript