Consumer Insights | Digital Commerce 360 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/topic/consumer-insights/ Your source for ecommerce news, analysis and research Wed, 31 Jul 2024 15:46:17 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.5 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/cropped-2022-DC360-favicon-d-32x32.png Consumer Insights | Digital Commerce 360 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/topic/consumer-insights/ 32 32 Experience is everything for B2B buyers https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2024/07/23/b2b-buyer-experience-sana-commerce-infographic/ Tue, 23 Jul 2024 19:43:53 +0000 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/?p=1325910 B2B buyers are making purchases online more than ever before, according to the 2024 B2B Buyer Report from Sana Commerce, and their experience determines their decision-making. Two out of three B2B buyers prefer to place their orders online through suppliers’ websites, and 79% prefer to place repeat orders online. B2B ecommerce has even become the […]

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B2B buyers are making purchases online more than ever before, according to the 2024 B2B Buyer Report from Sana Commerce, and their experience determines their decision-making.

Two out of three B2B buyers prefer to place their orders online through suppliers’ websites, and 79% prefer to place repeat orders online. B2B ecommerce has even become the norm for complex and high-value orders. 58% of B2B buyers want to conduct these transactions online, Sana Commerce survey data of 1,000 buyers shows.

But even though B2B online buying has entered the mainstream, B2B sellers are facing a big threat: Too many buyers are having a bad experience with B2B web stores. And buyers are willing to jump ship because of it. The Sana Commerce survey revealed that 74% of B2B buyers said they would switch suppliers if another B2B web store offered a better experience. This issue is particularly pronounced for U.S. buyers, where the percentage spikes to 91%.

Key findings about the B2B buyer experience from Sana Commerce:

  • 84% of B2B buyers believe that an easy and accurate online web store experience is important.
  • 79% of B2B buyers prefer to place repeat orders online.
  • 58% of buyers prefer placing complex orders online.
  • Almost 9 in 10 (87%) B2B buyers believe that a bad buying experience impacts their relationship with the supplier.

“In the last two years, B2B buyers have advanced their adoption of e-commerce in B2B sales to the point that offline sales are now in a fringe minority,” according to the survey.

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Prime Day 2024 drives record sales for overall US ecommerce https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/article/amazon-prime-day-sales/ Thu, 18 Jul 2024 17:00:43 +0000 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/?post_type=article&p=910077 Amazon.com Inc. said its 48-hour Prime Day event broke its own record for sales in 2024, though it didn’t specify the sales amount or quantify the growth. Prime members shopped “millions of deals across more than 35 categories,” Amazon said. They also “purchased more items than any previous Prime Day shopping event.” Independent sellers, specifically, […]

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Amazon.com Inc. said its 48-hour Prime Day event broke its own record for sales in 2024, though it didn’t specify the sales amount or quantify the growth.

Prime members shopped “millions of deals across more than 35 categories,” Amazon said. They also “purchased more items than any previous Prime Day shopping event.”



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Independent sellers, specifically, sold more than 200 million items over the course of the 48-hour Prime Day event. Amazon said most of them are small and medium-sized businesses.

Additionally, Amazon said its new AI-powered conversational assistant — which it calls Rufus — helped millions of customers shop during the event.

“Millions more Prime members shopped the two-day shopping event compared to Prime Day 2023,” Amazon said in a statement.

Amazon is No. 1 in the Top 1000, Digital Commerce 360’s database of North America’s largest online retailers based on web sales. It’s also No. 3 in the Global Online Marketplaces database, which ranks the 100 largest global marketplaces by third-party gross merchandise value (GMV). Digital Commerce 360 projects Amazon’s total web sales in 2024 will reach $469.01 billion.

How much did Amazon make in sales during Prime Day 2024?

Although Amazon didn’t reveal exactly how much it made in Prime Day 2024 sales, third-party data provides insights into how the event went.

The average order value (AOV) during Prime Day 2024 was $57.97, according to data from Numerator. Numerator is a data and technology company that provides market research. Its data is based on a collection of 93,513 unique orders during Amazon’s 48-hour event, from 35,588 households.

More than half (60%) of households that shopped Amazon during the Prime Day 2024 sales event placed two or more orders. This brought the average household spend to about $152, Numerator said. 40% of households made just one order, whereas 24% made two orders.

Additionally, 23% of households for which Numerator has data spent more than $200. 22% of households spent more than $100 but no more than $200. Similarly, 21% of households spent more than $50 but no more than $100.

The average price per item was $28.06, Numerator found. Based on the number of units purchased, the top-selling items were the Amazon Fire TV Stick, premier protein shakes, Liquid I.V. packets, Glad trash bags and COSRX snail mucin serum.

88% of shoppers were Prime members, according to Numerator, and 85% have been Prime members for more than a year. 98% knew it was Prime Day before shopping, and just over half (53%) said Prime Day was their main reason for shopping. Moreover, 54% compared prices from other retailers.

Whereas 41% of consumers Numerator surveyed said they didn’t shop other sales, more than a third shopped other Mass Merchants‘ summer sales promotions. 35% said they shopped Walmart Deals, which ran July 8 to 11. Similarly, 34% shopped Target Circle Week. Just 11% said they shopped from Consumer Electronics retailer Best Buy’s Black Friday in July promotion.

Impact of Amazon Prime Day 2024 on US online retail sales

On the second day of the Amazon Prime Day 2024 event, July 17, consumers spent $7 billion online — and that’s outside of Amazon itself — according to data from Adobe Analytics.

Adobe’s analysis is based on 100 million stock keeping units (SKUs) across 18 product categories and covers more than 1 trillion visits to U.S. retail sites. 200 online retailers in the Top 1000 use Adobe Analytics for their web analytics, and 97 use it for site design and development. Top 1000 online retailers also use it for content delivery and management, as an ecommerce platform, a marketing platform, for personalization and more.

That $7 billion is shy of the first 24 hours’ $7.2 billion, which marked a new record, yet it still represents 10.4% year-over-year growth.

However, it brings the total of U.S. online retail sales — excluding Amazon — to $14.2 billion during the full Amazon Prime Day 2024 sales event, according to Adobe. That’s both an 11% year-over-year increase and a new record for online sales during the Prime Day event.

Sales growth by category

Specific categories drove the sales, Adobe data shows. Electronics sales as a whole increased 61% over the two-day event compared to average daily sales in June 2024, Adobe said. Across specific products, tablets had the largest sales growth at 117% over the two-day event, followed by:

  • Televisions (up 111%)
  • Headphones and Bluetooth speakers (105%)
  • Fitness trackers (88%)
  • Computers (80%)
  • Smartphones (71%)
  • Cameras (60%)

Among home, furniture and appliances sales, small kitchen appliances saw the largest growth over the two-day sales period at 76%. Kitchenware and cookware sales grew 25% and mattresses 21%. Meanwhile, Home office furniture sales grew 14% and bedroom furniture 11%.

Within the apparel category, sales of suits grew the most, at 36% across both days. Outerwear (19%), footwear (17%) and accessories (17%) accounted for the next-most sales growth.

“The electronics, apparel, and furniture categories make up nearly half of e-commerce spend but has seen low single digit growth in the first half of 2024,” said Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights, in a statement. “It’s clear now that the Prime Day event has been a catalyst across these major categories, with discounts deep enough for consumers to hit the buy button and upgrade items in their homes.”

Trending spending habits

Almost half of that total came from mobile devices. Mobile commerce drove close to half (49.2%) of online purchases on the second of Amazon’s two-day event. For both days combined, consumers spent $7 billion from their mobile devices. That’s 18.6% year-over-year growth.

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) accounted for 7.6% of online orders during the Amazon Prime Day 2024 sales event. BNPL drove $1.08 billion in online spending during Amazon’s Prime Day 2024 sales event. That’s 16.4% year-over-year growth.

Retailers have leaned into discounts to drive growth since the 2023 holiday shopping season, Adobe said. Amazon Prime Day’s sales event drew discounts from other retailers, according to Adobe Analytics, including:

  • Electronics peaking at 23% off listed price (vs. 14% in 2023)
  • Apparel discounts at 20% (vs. 12% in 2023)
  • Home/furniture at 16% (vs. 9%)
  • Televisions at 16% (vs. 5%)
  • Toys at 15% (vs. 12%)
  • Appliances at 14% (vs. 7%)
  • Sporting goods at 11% (vs. 6%)
  • Computers at 11% (vs. 8%)

Consumers selected curbside pickup for nearly a fifth of U.S. online orders (18.9%) during the two-day sales event (among retailers offering the service). That’s down slight from 20.2% in 2023.

Prime Day’s effect on online retail

Globally, sales growth for retailers other than Amazon was flat year over year during the Prime Day 2024 event, according to ecommerce platform provider Salesforce.

That wasn’t the case in North America, though. As a whole, North American online sales grew 3% year over year during the sales event. The United States led that total growth for the continent, accounting for most of the sales during the period. However, Canada’s online retail sales grew at a faster rate: 8% year over year.

In North America, 76 of the top 2000 online retailers use Salesforce as their ecommerce platform, according to Digital Commerce 360 data. And in 2023, those 76 online retailers combined for more than $136.077 billion in web sales.

Consumers locked in on deals as they become increasingly focused on value, said Rob Garf, vice president and general manager of retail and consumer goods at Salesforce, in a statement. Makeup, skin care, and apparel were the big winners heading into the back-to-school season, he added.

“Amazon’s annual Prime Day gives us a glimpse into what we can expect this holiday season,” Garf said. “And retailers must be smiling. Online traffic and demand were up. And much of the online growth was based on people buying more, not just higher prices.”

In contrast, TikTok’s “Deal for You Days” did not drive the same results as Amazon this year, Salesforce said. Discounts timed to coincide with TikTok’s sales event averaged 18% off product prices. That compares to 22% discounts, on average, during this year’s Prime Day event, according to Salesforce data.

Salesforce also broke out which categories had the largest sales growth and discounts during the full span of the 2024 Prime Day event.

Top-performing verticals by sales growth

  1. Health & Beauty (16% increase). Makeup sales, specifically, grew 30%. Skin care sales grew 14%.
  2. Active Footwear (12%)
  3. General Footwear (12%)

Highest discounts globally by category

  1. General Apparel  (average discount of 28%)
  2. Beauty & Makeup (26%; was 21% in 2023)
  3. Beauty & Skincare (22%)
  4. Home & Furniture (22%)

Global discounts grew 8% year over year during the full 48 hours of the Prime Day 2024 sales event, Salesforce said. The average discount rate across categories was 20%.

Highest discounts by category in the US

  1. General Apparel (average discount of 33%)
  2. Home & Furniture (21%)
  3. Health & Beauty (21%)

Discounts from U.S. online retailers grew 10% year over year during the same period, according to Salesforce. The average discount rate across categories was 22%. For online retailers in Canada, those figures are 11% and 27%, respectively.

“For the first time in a long time, we’re seeing order volumes turn positive and discounting is high,” said Caila Schwartz, director of consumer insights at Salesforce, in a statement. “The lesson is a simple one — if retailers deliver on discounting and providing true value, they will release that pressure valve of built-up demand and see incredible success. If they don’t, retailers may risk losing out as shoppers will go elsewhere.”

Here’s last year’s article summarizing Amazon Prime Day sales results.

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June online grocery sales grow as fulfillment methods get more use https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/article/monthly-online-grocery-sales/ Tue, 16 Jul 2024 14:00:46 +0000 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/?post_type=article&p=1324100 Online grocery sales in June 2024 grew in two of the three segments tracked in the monthly Brick Meets Click and Mercatus Grocery Shopping Survey. Brick Meets Click and Mercatus define the three receiving methods for online grocery sales as: Delivery: Includes orders received from a first- or third-party provider like Instacart, Shipt or the retailer’s own […]

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Online grocery sales in June 2024 grew in two of the three segments tracked in the monthly Brick Meets Click and Mercatus Grocery Shopping Survey.



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Brick Meets Click and Mercatus define the three receiving methods for online grocery sales as:

  • Delivery: Includes orders received from a first- or third-party provider like Instacart, Shipt or the retailer’s own employees.
  • Pickup: Includes orders received by customers either inside or outside a store or at a designated location/locker.
  • Ship-to-home: Includes orders that are received via common or contract carriers like FedEx, UPS, USPS, etc.

Pickup, the largest segment by sales, remained flat year over year, but delivery and ship-to-home both grew.

“Delivery’s strong performance in June likely benefited from the promotional offers made last month, first by Instacart and then by Walmart,” said David Bishop, partner at Brick Meets Click, in a statement. “These promotions focused on delivery and offered deep discounts on each service’s annual membership fees, which helped boost both MAUs [monthly average users] and order frequency for delivery and for Walmart.”

 

June 2024 data was based on a survey of 1,744 adults in the United States and a similar survey in June 2023 of 1,769 adults, Brick Meets Click said.

June online grocery sales

Online grocery sales in June 2024 grew compared to June 2023. They also grew compared to May 2024, which saw a year-over-year decline.

June online grocery sales hit $7.7 billion, according to Brick Meets Click and Mercatus. That’s an 8.0% increase from $7.1 billion in June 2023.

Online grocery delivery sales grew to $2.9 billion in June 2024. That’s up 18% from $2.5 billion in the prior-year period.

Similarly, ship-to-home sales grew to $1.3 billion in June 2024. That’s a nearly 10% increase from $1.2 billion in June 2023. That marked the fourth straight month of year-over-year sales gains for the segment. Brick Meets Click and Mercatus attributed that growth to an increase in average order value (AOV) despite a 1% reduction in MAUs and a decline in order frequency.

Impact of Mass Merchants on monthly online grocery sales

The overall online grocery MAU base grew nearly 4% year over year in June, driven almost entirely by reactivating lapsed users, Brick Meets Click and Mercatus said. The increase in customers in June 2024 is largely due to less-frequent users making another order or lapsed customers who are giving the service another chance, they said.

Nearly a third of customers bought online from both grocery stores and Mass Merchants — such as Walmart, Target or Costco — Brick Meets Click and Mercatus data showed. In June, 31.6% of online grocery store shoppers also received an online grocery order from a Mass Merchant. More specifically, the share of online grocery store shoppers who also ordered groceries online from Walmart reached 22%.

Walmart, Target and Costco each rank in the top 10 within Digital Commerce 360’s Top 1000 Database. The database ranks North America’s leading online retailers by their web sales.

In terms of where surveyed households report buying most of their groceries, whether in-store or online, Mass Merchants expanded their share to 42% in June 2024. Meanwhile, supermarket operators’ share dipped to 39%.

“Regional grocers need to stem the tide and regain market share by leveling the playing field against Mass Merchants, despite these rivals having a price advantage,” said Mark Fairhurst, chief growth officer at Mercatus, in a statement. “Integrating personalized and targeted promotions into their first-party platform experience will be key to re-engaging lapsed customers and improving repeat purchase rates. Additionally, incorporating high-level, in-store customer service into the digital experience — a strength that regionals are known for — will be crucial and can give them an advantage over their mass [merchant] competitors.”

Read last month’s update here.

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June online retail sales growth spikes as total sales remain stagnant https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/article/monthly-online-retail-sales/ Mon, 15 Jul 2024 17:00:20 +0000 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/?post_type=article&p=1310963 Online retail sales grew more than five times faster in June than total sales, according to data from the National Retail Federation’s Retail Monitor and CNBC. And while online and total retail sales both grew in June — year over year as well as month over month — consumers are still prioritizing non-discretionary purchases in […]

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Online retail sales grew more than five times faster in June than total sales, according to data from the National Retail Federation’s Retail Monitor and CNBC.

And while online and total retail sales both grew in June — year over year as well as month over month — consumers are still prioritizing non-discretionary purchases in the face of high interest rates and lingering inflation, said NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay.



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“Inflation has dropped to nearly zero for goods, but remains persistent with services, and solid economic fundamentals are helping consumers make ends meet,” Shay said.

NRF excludes automobile and gasoline sales from its total retail sales figure. Based on that, total sales grew 0.47% month over month, as well as 3.42% year over year, according to the Retail Monitor. That compares with 1.35% month-over-month and 2.88% year-over-year increases in May.

Furthermore, core retail sales (which exclude restaurants in addition to automobiles and gasoline), increased 0.3% in June over May. June core retail sales also increased 3.07% year over year, according to the Retail Monitor.

Online retail sales grow fast in June

Online and other nonstore retail sales in June grew 1.78% over May. At the same time, June online sales grew 23.08% year over year.

“Month-over-month sales growth was moderate in June, and year-over-year gains for total retail sales were the largest we’ve seen since last fall,” Shay said.

Sales dropped month over month in most categories

  • June online and other non-store sales (grew 1.78% month over month)
  • General merchandise stores (up 0.61%)
  • Grocery and beverage stores (up 1.01%)
  • Sporting goods, hobby, music and book stores (up 0.68%)
  • Clothing and accessories stores (down 0.11%)
  • Health and personal care stores (down 0.04%)
  • Electronics and appliance stores (down 1.02%)
  • Furniture and home furnishings stores (down 0.62%)
  • Building and garden supply stores (down 1.8%)

Sales grew year over year in most categories

  • June online and other non-store sales (up 23.08% year over year)
  • General merchandise stores (up 5.79%)
  • Clothing and accessories stores (up 5.35%)
  • Health and personal care stores (up 4.63%)
  • Grocery and beverage stores (up 4.31%)
  • Sporting goods, hobby, music and book stores (down 0.52% year over year unadjusted.
  • Electronics and appliance stores (down 3.24%)
  • Furniture and home furnishings stores (down 3.26%)
  • Building and garden supply stores (down 3.46%)

Here’s last month’s update on nonstore sales.

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B2B marketing turns to AI in ‘era of less’ https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2024/06/25/b2b-marketing-ai/ Tue, 25 Jun 2024 19:46:40 +0000 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/?p=1324621 B2B chief marketing officers are making do with fewer resources because of soft business conditions. They also have their eye on artificial intelligence (AI) as a new tool that brings about ways to improve the quality and quantity of their marketing programs, according to a survey of 395 B2B marketing executives by Gartner. According to […]

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B2B chief marketing officers are making do with fewer resources because of soft business conditions.

They also have their eye on artificial intelligence (AI) as a new tool that brings about ways to improve the quality and quantity of their marketing programs, according to a survey of 395 B2B marketing executives by Gartner.

According to Gartner, average marketing budgets have fallen to 7.7% of overall company revenue, down from 9.1% in 2023.

“CMOs are living in an ‘era of less,’” says the chief of research for the Gartner marketing practice, Ewan McIntyre. “In the four years preceding the pandemic, average marketing budgets were 11% of overall revenue. They have dropped to an anemic 8.2% in the four years since.”

AI gives B2B marketing a boost

Digital dominates a growing share of paid media spend, taking 57.1% of budgets in 2024. That’s up from 54.9% in 2023, Gartner says. Top channels include search (13.6%), social advertising (12.2%), and digital display advertising (10.7%).

Among offline channels, event marketing (17.1%), sponsorship (16.4%), and TV (16%) were the top channels for investment.

“In these tough times, CMOs prioritize investments that have a demonstrable impact,” says McIntyre. “However, there is a mismatch between the channels CMOs are investing in and their perceived impact. For example, CMOs ranked digital video/streaming as the most impactful digital channel, despite it only coming in fourth when it comes to spending.”

As CMOs chase revenue growth despite budget cuts, AI has emerged as an important tool, according to the Gartner CMO survey.

“Reduced budgets are only a problem if marketing leaders are working with the same tools as before — that’s not the case now that CMOs have AI,” Gartner says. “Gen AI is delivering enhanced productivity, despite constrained resources.”

Gen AI investments are most likely to be cited as delivery time and cost efficiency. More than one-third of CMOs identified these as their top three benefits when considering the ROI of AI investments, Gartner says.

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Check back soon for more Charts & Data Stories, like our weekly B2B infographics. Here’s last week’s. We add new content regularly. 

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May online retail sales grow, NRF president calls April sales ‘an outlier’ https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2024/06/19/may-online-retail-sales-2024/ Wed, 19 Jun 2024 17:00:41 +0000 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/?p=1323839 Retail sales in May were up nearly across the board compared to April, according to data from the National Retail Federation’s Retail Monitor and CNBC. Online and total sales increased both year over year and month over month in May, marking improvement over April. The Retail Monitor said it uses anonymized credit and debit card […]

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Retail sales in May were up nearly across the board compared to April, according to data from the National Retail Federation’s Retail Monitor and CNBC. Online and total sales increased both year over year and month over month in May, marking improvement over April.

The Retail Monitor said it uses anonymized credit and debit card purchase data that Affinity Solutions compiles, and that the data does not require monthly or annual revision.

“Consumers have clearly retained their ability to spend and are driving solid economic growth,” NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay said.

NRF excludes automobile and gasoline sales from its total retail sales figure. Based on that, total sales grew 1.35% month over month, as well as 3.03% year over year, according to the Retail Monitor. That compares with a 0.26% month-over-month increase and a 0.6% year-over-year drop in April.

Furthermore, core retail sales (which exclude restaurants in addition to automobiles and gasoline), increased 1.2% in May over April. May core retail sales also increased 2.88% year over year, according to the Retail Monitor.

Total retail sales increased 2.13% year over year for the period from Jan. 1 through May 31, the Retail Monitor reported. It said the month-over-month gains were the highest since April 2023, when total sales increased 1.13% and core sales 1.27%.

Census Bureau data on May sales

The U.S. Census Bureau announced June 18 that sales grew in May 2024 when compared to both April 2024 and May 2023. May retail sales totaled $703.1 billion, according to the Census Bureau. That’s 0.1% month-over-month growth, as well as 2.3% year over year, it said.

The Bureau’s estimates reflect U.S. retail and food-service sales, adjusted for seasonal variation, holiday, and trading-day differences. It does not adjust the figures for price changes, it said.

Retail sales, specifically, grew 0.2% month over month in May. They also grew 2.0% over May 2023, the Census Bureau said. Meanwhile, May nonstore retail sales (which online retail largely comprises) saw 6.8% year-over-year growth.

Furthermore, total sales from March 2024 through May 2024 increased 2.9% over the same period in 2023.

“May’s retail sales give us a snapshot of a reasonably healthy consumer even though spending growth is fluctuating somewhat,” NRF chief economist Jack Kleinhenz said in a statement, responding to the Census Bureau’s data.

May online sales growth

Online and other nonstore sales in May grew 2.09% over April, according to NRF’s Retail Monitor. At the same time, May online sales grew 17.91% year over year.

“Inflation remains stubborn but is almost entirely in services rather than retail goods,” Shay said. “May’s year-over-year gains are in line with what we saw earlier this year, and the month-over-month increases are the largest in more than a year. We believe this underscores that April’s moderation was an outlier.”

Sales grew month over month in all but three categories.

  • May online and other non-store sales (grew 2.09% month over month).
  • Health and personal care stores (up 1.29%)
  • Clothing and accessories stores (up 1.44%)
  • General merchandise stores (up 1.31%)
  • Grocery and beverage stores (up 1.97%)
  • Sporting goods, hobby, music and book stores (up 1.04%)
  • Building and garden supply stores (down 0.6% month over month)
  • Electronics and appliance stores (down 0.05%)
  • Furniture and home furnishings stores (down 0.14%)

Sales grew year over year in most categories.

  • May online and other non-store sales (17.91% increase year over year)
  • Health and personal care stores (up 6.86%)
  • Clothing and accessories stores (up 6.24%)
  • General merchandise stores (up 4.89%)
  • Grocery and beverage stores (up 2.53%)
  • Building and garden supply stores (down 0.53% year over year)
  • Sporting goods, hobby, music and book stores (down 0.71%)
  • Electronics and appliance stores (down 0.87%)
  • Furniture and home furnishings stores (down 3.21%)

Here’s last month’s update on nonstore sales.

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Salesforce releases 5 holiday shopping predictions for 2024 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2024/06/18/salesforce-releases-5-holiday-shopping-predictions-for-2024/ Tue, 18 Jun 2024 13:01:29 +0000 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/?p=1324143 Holiday shopping will look different for retailers this year, software provider Salesforce said as it announced five predictions for the the end of 2024. The company, which provides cloud-based services and an ecommerce platform for merchants, expects “a challenging season” for shoppers and retailers alike. And “we can’t say shoppers didn’t warn us,” Salesforce said. […]

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Holiday shopping will look different for retailers this year, software provider Salesforce said as it announced five predictions for the the end of 2024.

The company, which provides cloud-based services and an ecommerce platform for merchants, expects “a challenging season” for shoppers and retailers alike. And “we can’t say shoppers didn’t warn us,” Salesforce said. That’s because shoppers have been searching for savings and waiting to make big purchases, it said.

“After remaining largely resilient throughout four years of economic uncertainty, consumers are finally feeling the pinch,” Salesforce said in a statement. “From sustained inflation to supply chain woes, consumers worldwide have been through a lot.”

Nearly a third of global shoppers (32%) reported using alternative credit services like buy now, pay later (BNPL) more frequently this year, according to Salesforce research.

Salesforce defines the holiday season as Nov. 1 through Dec. 31. In North America, 76 of the Top 2000 online retailers use Salesforce as their ecommerce platform, according to Digital Commerce 360 data. In 2022, those 76 online retailers combined for more than $116.97 billion in web sales.

Here are Salesforce’s five predictions about the 2024 holiday shopping season.

Saleforce five holiday shopping predictions 2024

1. Chinese shopping apps will take over

The first Salesforce holiday shopping prediction revolves around two factors: prices and China. The company said 63% of Western consumers plan to purchase from Chinese shopping apps during the 2024 holiday season. That includes merchants such as Aliexpress, Cider, Shein, Temu and TikTok. And it all comes down to price, Salesforce said.

Rob Garf, vice president and general manager of retail at Salesforce, said sales increases have been “almost purely because of price increases, not increase in products sold.”

Order volumes have been falling since 2022, Salesforce said, and shoppers want their purchases to feel worth it. Salesforce projects that these Chinese shopping apps will take 21% of sales outside China itself in the 2024 holiday season.

2. Middle-mile shipping puts strain on margins

The second Salesforce prediction is that brands and retailers will spend an extra $197 billion on middle- and last-mile expenses during the 2024 holiday shopping season. That would be a 97% increase over last year’s holiday season.

The company said attacks in the Red Sea from Yemen-based Houthi forces and rising crude oil prices are driving container costs up worldwide. A Houthi spokesperson stated in December that they would target “ships affiliated to Israel or transporting commodities to Israeli ports” and continue to do so if “food and medicine keep not accessing the Gaza Strip.”

Salesforce cited a Reuters report assessing that “any ceasefire agreement would lessen the tension in the Middle East.” To date, Israel and Hamas have not agreed on terms for a ceasefire that would end the current Israeli military campaign. Israel has pushed for a six-week ceasefire, whereas Hamas has pushed for a permanent ceasefire.

Moreover, the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore has stalled delivery times and added expenses for retailers. But despite these challenges, Salesforce said, retailers shouldn’t push shipping expenses onto consumers.

More than half of shoppers say they are more likely to purchase online than in a store if delivery is free, according to Salesforce. This is also in line with Digital Commerce 360 research.

Garf said retailers are getting more stringent about returns, as well. That has also led to retailers pushing buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS).

3. Shoppers embrace AI to search for the perfect gift

Salesforce said that artificial intelligence (AI) influenced 17% of online purchases during the 2023 holiday shopping season. Predictive and generative AI contributed to $199 million in online sales during the 2023 holiday shopping season, it said.

This year, Salesforce anticipates that more consumers will leverage AI, whether they know it or not. Already, 53% of shoppers Salesforce surveyed said they are interested in using generative AI for discovering gift ideas.

As Google embeds generative AI into its search tool, Salesforce said, retailers will be able to transition from keyword searches to natural prompts for finding products on their websites. Salesforce said it predicts search will drive a conversion rate nearly 3x better compared to traffic not engaged with site search. It also predicts a 1.8% conversion rate across all geographies and verticals in the 2024 holiday shopping season.

Salesforce announced AI, Data Cloud and Commerce Cloud features at its Connections 2024 conference at McCormick Place in Chicago on May 22 and 23.

4. Black Friday becomes Cyber Friday

Among the Salesforce predictions is that ecommerce will capture 7% of in-store sales on Black Friday.

Nearly two-thirds of shoppers Salesforce surveyed said they’re waiting until the Cyber 5 period to make large holiday purchases.

“The big news is that Black Friday is going to be the biggest day for digital,” Salesforce said.

Survey respondents cited convenience, free delivery and the ability to search for the best prices as their top reasons for going online. Additionally, 72% of surveyed consumers told Salesforce they prefer to shop online during Black Friday.

5. Retailers tap loyal shoppers to avoid skyrocketing digital marketing costs

Digital marketing costs are becoming more expensive as the United States prepares for another presidential election and Chinese companies buy more advertising inventory, Salesforce said.

“This means that brands and retailers have to better engage their existing customer base amid this tug of war over digital advertising space,” it said.

As a result, Salesforce said, shoppers are doubling down on loyalty programs. 63% of shoppers are making more purchases from stores where they can earn and redeem loyalty points, Salesforce said.

Salesforce Shopping Index data indicates that the rate of repeat buyers increased 8% over the last two years. Furthermore, 46% of shoppers say earning and redeeming loyalty points is the second-highest factor, behind price, influencing where they buy, according to Salesforce data.

The final Salesforce holiday prediction is that loyal, repeat buyers will make 40% of purchases in the 2024 holiday season.

“This season will be competitive, intense, and no doubt all about pricing and discounting strategies,” Salesforce said. “It’s never been more important to rely on your customer data for guidance and insight into marketing campaigns — especially the holiday promotional calendar — that keep your loyal customers buying more and buying from you.”

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May online grocery sales fall as consumers drop pickup sales https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2024/06/14/may-online-grocery-sales-2024/ Fri, 14 Jun 2024 17:00:10 +0000 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/?p=1324056 Online grocery sales in May 2024 decreased month over month and year over year, according to data from the monthly Brick Meets Click and Mercatus Grocery Shopping Survey. The drop resulted from fewer pickup sales — which include in-store, curbside, from lockers and drive-up — in May 2024 than in 2023. Pickup sales were also fewer […]

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Online grocery sales in May 2024 decreased month over month and year over year, according to data from the monthly Brick Meets Click and Mercatus Grocery Shopping Survey.

The drop resulted from fewer pickup sales — which include in-store, curbside, from lockers and drive-up — in May 2024 than in 2023. Pickup sales were also fewer than in April 2024 (and 2023, for that matter). May 2024 data was based on a survey of 1,724 adults in the United States, Brick Meets Click said.

Moreover, pickup sales dropped despite a 3% increase in overall monthly active users (MAUs), according to Brick Meets Click. The analytics firm attributed this to growth in MAUs to lapsed users buying online again in May.

“What pulled down monthly sales results was a 6% decline in order frequency combined with a slight decline in AOV,” Brick Meets Click said in a statement.

Brick Meets Click and Mercatus define the three receiving methods for online grocery sales as:

  • Delivery: Includes orders received from a first- or third-party provider like Instacart, Shipt or the retailer’s own employees.
  • Pickup: Includes orders received by customers either inside or outside a store or at a designated location/locker.
  • Ship-to-home: Includes orders that are received via common or contract carriers like FedEx, UPS, USPS, etc.

What impacted May online grocery sales?

Online grocery sales in May fell slightly, to $6.8 billion in 2024 from $6.9 billion in 2023.

“Customers appreciate the convenience of online grocery shopping, but they are increasingly looking for ways to save money as inflation has taken a toll on the household wallet,” said Mark Fairhurst, chief growth officer at Mercatus, in a statement. “While digital deals are a good start, it’s crucial to focus on more targeted, personalized, contextual offers based on past purchases, shopper profiles, preferences, or search behavior to better engage and retain customers.”

May online grocery sales in 2024, based on Brick Meets Click and Mercatus data.

The largest receiving method, pickup, accounted for fewer online sales this May: $3.3 billion. That’s a 3.9% drop from $3.5 billion in May 2023.

The next-largest method, delivery, drew in the same amount of sales in May 2024 and 2023: $2.2 billion. The only method to generate an increase in sales was ship-to-home. It brought in $1.3 billion in May 2024, compared to $1.2 billion in 2023. That’s 9% growth.

“During May, Delivery benefited from deep discounts related to annual memberships offered first by Instacart (80% off) and later in the month by Walmart (50% off),” said David Bishop, partner at Brick Meets Click, in the statement. “These promotions likely drove Delivery’s strong jump in MAUs and show how players like Instacart and Walmart are attempting to keep active customers engaged by getting them to commit to 12 months instead of just one.”

Read last month’s update here.

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B2B buyers increasingly seek digital-first omnichannel options https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2024/06/11/b2b-buyers-omnichannel-digital-first/ Tue, 11 Jun 2024 19:44:31 +0000 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/?p=1323911 Across the board, B2B buyers are a mobile and an increasingly digital group. Just four years before the global COVID-19 outbreak, B2B buyers made about two-thirds of their organizational goods and services purchases through traditional email, by phone or fax, or in the branch, and about one-third online. But time and economic trends have changed […]

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Across the board, B2B buyers are a mobile and an increasingly digital group. Just four years before the global COVID-19 outbreak, B2B buyers made about two-thirds of their organizational goods and services purchases through traditional email, by phone or fax, or in the branch, and about one-third online. But time and economic trends have changed […]

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Retail ecommerce spending grows in first third of year, Adobe data shows https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2024/05/09/retail-ecommerce-spending-adobe-data/ Thu, 09 May 2024 20:08:05 +0000 https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/?p=1322211 In the first third of 2024, retail ecommerce spending grew 7% year over year in the U.S., according to new Adobe Analytics data. Adobe says its data is based on more than 1 trillion visits to U.S. retail ecommerce sites, 100 million SKUs and 18 product categories. “In an unpredictable economic environment, the latest data […]

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In the first third of 2024, retail ecommerce spending grew 7% year over year in the U.S., according to new Adobe Analytics data.

Adobe says its data is based on more than 1 trillion visits to U.S. retail ecommerce sites, 100 million SKUs and 18 product categories.

“In an unpredictable economic environment, the latest data from Adobe Analytics shows continued resilience in the digital economy, as consumers embrace new categories online,” said Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights, in a statement. “Groceries is a standout, and Adobe expects that in the next three years, the category will be a dominant force in e-commerce that is on par with electronics and apparel in revenue share.”

In total, 333 online retailers in the Top 1000 use Adobe for vendor services including — but not limited to — its ecommerce platform. Some use it for web analytics, performance and hosting, as well as cloud services and more. The Top 1000 is Digital Commerce 360’s database ranking the largest North American online retailers based on their annual web sales.

Top online retail sales categories through April

From Jan. 1 through April 30, consumers spent $331.6 billion online, the data shows.

Adobe Analytics projects more than $500 billion in U.S. retail ecommerce spending in the first half of 2024. That would represent at least 6.8% year-over-year growth, based on Adobe data from 2023.

Electronics, apparel and grocery sales guided retail ecommerce spending through April this year, Adobe said. Consumers spent $61.8 billion online on electronics (3.1% year-over-year growth), $54.5 billion on apparel (2.6% growth) and $38.8 billion on groceries (15.7% growth), the data showed.

The cosmetics category also grew year over year — up 8% to $13.2 billion. In all of 2023, the cosmetics category accounted for $35 billion in online sales, which was up 15.6% year over year.

Adobe found that within the grocery category, “goods with low inflation saw revenue grow by 13.4%, while products with high inflation saw revenue drop by 15.6%. The effect was less pronounced in a category such as cosmetics (revenue up 3.06% for low-inflation goods, down only 0.34% for high-inflation goods), as consumers exhibit stronger loyalty for their favorite brands.”

Consumers fight inflation while shopping online

Adobe separated its data into four price quartiles. Going back to January 2019 from April 2024, it found that the share of the cheapest products “increased significantly across categories.”

  • Personal care (up 96%)
  • Electronics (up 64%)
  • Apparel (up 47%)
  • Home/garden (up 42%)
  • Furniture/bedding (up 42%)
  • Grocery (up 33%)

Although to a lesser extent, the sales share of cheapest goods also grew for:

  • Sporting goods (up 28%)
  • Appliances (up 26%)
  • Tools/home improvement (up 26%)
  • Toys (up 25%)

Adobe noted that these are categories where brand loyalty has more of an impact on consumers’ decision-making. It also said consumers tend to invest in higher-quality products within these categories.

Retail ecommerce trends and forecasts in early 2024

In a different way of combating inflation, U.S. consumers continue to use BNPL (buy now, pay later) “for greater flexibility in managing their budgets,” Adobe said.

Through April this year, consumers used BNPL to spend $25.9 billion. That’s up 11.8% through the same period last year.

Adobe projects that to grow through 2024, driving between $81 billion and $84.8 billion. That would put year-over-year growth between 8% and 13%, Adobe said.

Mobile commerce also grew in the first four months of 2024, bringing in $156.9 billion in online sales. That’s up 9.8% over the same period in 2023. Adobe projects mobile sales to take a 52.5% share of online revenue in 2024 holiday spending (November through December). In the 2023 holiday season, mobile spending surpasses desktop for the first time at 51% share of November and December sales. Mobile spending in the 2023 holiday season peaked on Christmas at 61% share of sales.

When it comes to marketing channels, paid search has driven the largest share of sales this year, Adobe said. It attributes 28.2% of retail ecommerce spending to paid search, and:

  • 19..6% to direct web visits
  • 17.1% to affiliates/partners (17.1%)
  • 15.9% to organic search (15.9%)
  • 15.4% to email

Revenue that Adobe directly attributes to social media remained at less than 5% of total sales, but that share has grown 5.2% year over year in 2024. Organic search has declined 5.6%, Adobe said, driving 15.9% of total sales so far this year.

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