An independent contractor from FedEx Corp. unload packages from a delivery truck on Cyber Monday in New York, USA, on Monday, December 2, 2019.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Online shopping in the U.S. during the 2020 holiday grew 32.2% compared to 2019, totaling a record $ 188.2 billion, as shoppers stayed at home and shopped on the web during the pandemic, according to Adobe Analytics.
November e-commerce sales, which included Black Friday and Cyber Monday, reached $ 100 billion for the first time, said Adobe, which tracks web transactions for 80 of the top 100 internet retailers in the United States. . In another first moment, online spending exceeded $ 1 billion a day during the 2020 holiday season and 50 days exceeded $ 2 billion, Adobe said.
“In the light of the pandemic, digital has become the primary way for people to connect, work, play and shop, “said Taylor Schreiner, director of Adobe Digital Insights.” Now, as Covid-19 cases continue to increase and a tighter blockade – reducing the return on measures, online spending is expected to remain high, at least in the beginning of 2021. “
Grocery stores, appliances and books have grown in popularity around the holiday compared to October levels, Adobe said, while online toy sales have increased by 50% compared to 2019, and the jewelry category has grown by 66%.
Internet spending during Thanksgiving week through Cyber Monday accounted for just 18% of the overall season, up from 20% in 2019, Adobe said. As retailers promoted business earlier than ever, many Americans started shopping in October in an attempt to avoid crowded aisles during the pandemic.
Retailers like Target and Dick’s Sporting Goods, which offer sidewalk collection options and other convenient collection options for online orders, recorded even higher sales during the holiday, according to a separate analysis from Salesforce. Its digital sales increased by an average of 49% over the previous year, compared to about 28% growth for retail businesses that had no sidewalk withdrawals and similar options, Salesforce found.
Shoppers are also looking for ways to finance their purchases and avoid running out of credit cards. Use of “buy now, pay later” for online orders grew 109% during the holiday, Salesforce found, with the biggest increase occurring in the last week before Christmas.
Now, the increase in e-commerce activity will translate into a record volume of returns, which may prove to be the next biggest headache for retailers in the new year. Salesforce expects $ 330 billion in global online purchases to be returned after the 2020 holiday season, representing about 30% of total purchases.
“We expect these innovations to remain in 2021, with holiday strategies becoming the new standard that consumers expect from their favorite retailers and brands,” said Rob Garf, vice president of Industry Strategy for Retail at Salesforce.
Read the full Adobe Analytics report on the 2020 holiday here.