Data, Trends and Insights: Black Friday Weekend 2020

Digital Marketing / December 07, 2020

The biggest shoppings days of 2020, the “Cyber 5” are now behind us. 

Every year, American Thanksgiving weekend kicks off the Christmas shopping season as customers flock to malls and big retail stores. This year, the shopping patterns we are usually accustomed to were completely thrown off because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

There were lots of predictions and talks on how the pandemic would affect the Black Friday/Cyber Monday period. Experts predicted that:

• Christmas shopping season would come early
• Traditional in-stores shopping would massively shift online
• The economic recession would impact customers’ buying power.

How would these new shopping behaviours impact digital marketing initiatives during the busy shopping season?

Now that those hectic shopping days are behind us, it’s time to dig-in data to paint a picture of what the Black Friday weekend actually looked like for e-commerce stores. In this article, you’ll find insights gathered from various sources as well as aggregated data from some of our agency’s clients selling online.  

Black Friday Online Sales Increased Year Over Year

Online revenues on Black Friday were higher this year than last year. U.S. shoppers spent 9 billions dollars online this Black Friday, a 21,6% increase from last year. Aggregated data from our sample shows a similar increase in online sales, this Black Friday versus last year. 

As for Cyber Monday, U.S. shoppers spent $10.8 billion, setting a record for the largest U.S. internet shopping day ever. Although Cyber Monday spending rose 15.1% in 2020, it came in short of Adobe’s original forecast of $12.7 billion. 

It also looked like a lot of consumers rushed last-minute to take advantage of Cyber Monday deals as 25% of Monday’s sales happened during the final hours (7 p.m. to 11 p.m).

The Holiday Season Started Early This Year

CNBC states that fewer holiday shoppers bought gifts during the Black Friday weekend, and those who did spent less, as discounts started early this year. 65% of Canadians said they started their holiday shopping early to avoid crowds. Even Canada Post asked consumers to start their holiday shopping early to avoid shipping delays. Plus, out-of-stocks and low inventories were pretty common this year, therefore consumers wanted to get what they needed asap.

The Holiday shopping season did start early this year and many companies launched pre-black friday sales or week-long promotions. Shoppers concentrated less of their shopping during the Black Friday weekend because they had already started weeks before.

“The end result was an elongation of a typically concentrated shopping weekend with more activity online than ever before.” – Google

According to our clients’ sample, the 30-day before Black Friday was remarkably busier than the 30-day period before Black Friday in 2019. 

It looks like the Cyber Weekend is slowly becoming more of a Cyber Month. Brands that started their promotions early or shared teasers through email and social media had more chances to stay top of mind throughout the month. 

Investment In Digital Marketing Was Bigger Than Last Year

According to Sensormatic Solutions, the 2020 Black Friday weekend resulted in a 49% decrease in store traffic compared to 2019, in the U.S. As in-stores traffic dropped drastically, ecommerce stores relied almost exclusively on digital marketing to boost their holiday campaigns and generate revenues. It was expected that online retailers would increase their digital marketing spend throughout the month of November, leading up to Cyber Monday. 

We did notice a significant increase in digital media investment on both Facebook and Google this year compared to last year. 

Social Platforms

Social media platforms were highly solicited this month. Social ads are a great addition to any retailers’ holiday strategy as they help build brand awareness, drive traffic to a site and capture email subscribers at a reasonable price.

And, with the COVID-19 pandemic social engagement has drastically increased as consumers are looking for entertainment and are staying connected with friends and family. Therefore, this year, a strong presence on social media was, more than ever, crucial.

It seems like many advertisers picked Facebook as their platform of choice in November. According to our sample data, in the 7-day period before Black Friday, CPM considerably increased versus last year. As the digital space got more crowded, Facebook advertisers needed to pay, on average, more money to reach the same number of people this year.

Mobile Shopping Continues To Rise

Mobile shopping has increased as well, accounting for 40% of online sales for the holiday season so far, in the U.S. This growth won’t slow down in the upcoming years. A mobile-friendly website that is accessible and easy to navigate is definitely a must-have. 

To take advantage of this shift, digital marketing strategy should include advertising campaigns on mobile-focused platforms like social media, with mobile-first creatives.

The Holiday Shopping Season Isn’t Over Yet

Although December is already here, the holiday shopping season isn’t over yet. We recommend launching your Christmas promotions as soon as possible as consumers are finishing up their shopping earlier than usual. Don’t forget to be upfront about shipping delays, focus on “Buy Online and Pick-Up In Store” initiatives or easy virtual gifts like Gift Cards. 

We would love to know if you saw similar trends for your ecommerce site? Let us know in the comments below. 

Note: Some of the data mentioned in this article is based on a sample of 50+ online stores, from different sizes and industries, mostly located in Canada.