29 Nov, 2012

Free Download: IBM Analytics Report Shows Black Friday Retail Surge

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ARMONK, N.Y., Nov. 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — According to IBM (NYSE: IBM), US shoppers once again took advantage of early promotions this holiday season, driving a 17.4 percent increase in online sales Thanksgiving Day. This increase set the stage for 20.7 percent growth on Black Friday.  The biggest surge came from mobile consumers, with sales reaching 16.3 percent, led by the iPad. This data is the result of cloud-based analytics findings from IBM.

As part of IBM’s Smarter Commerce initiative, the IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark revealed the following trends as of 12:00 am PST:

• Consumer Spending Increases: Online sales on Thanksgiving grew by 17.4 percent followed by Black Friday where sales increased 20.7 percent over last year.

• Mobile Shopping: Mobile purchases soared with 24 percent of consumers using a mobile device to visit a retailer’s site, up from 14.3 percent in 2011.  Mobile sales exceeded 16 percent, up from 9.8 percent in 2011.
  

• The iPad Factor: The iPad generated more traffic than any other tablet or smartphone, reaching nearly 10 percent of online shopping. This was followed by iPhone at 8.7 percent and Android 5.5 percent. The iPad dominated tablet traffic at 88.3 percent followed by the Barnes and Noble Nook at 3.1 percent, Amazon Kindle at 2.4 percent and the Samsung Galaxy at 1.8 percent.

• Multiscreen Shopping: Consumers shopped in store, online and on mobile devices simultaneously to get the best bargains. Overall 58 percent of consumers used smartphones compared to 41 percent who used tablets to surf for bargains on Black Friday.

• The Savvy shopper: While consumers spent more overall, they shopped with greater frequency to take advantage of retailer deals and free shipping.  This led to a drop in average order value by 4.7 percent to $181.22.  In addition, the average number of items per order decreased 12 percent to 5.6.

• Social Media Sentiment Index: Shoppers expressed positive consumer sentiment on promotions, shipping and convenience as well as the retailers themselves at a three to one ratio.

• Social Sales: Shoppers referred from Social Networks such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube generated .34 percent of all online sales on Black Friday, a decrease of more than 35 percent from 2011.

“This year’s holiday shopper was hungry for great deals and retailers didn’t disappoint, rolling out compelling offers which consumers gobbled up on Thanksgiving straight through Black Friday,” said Jay Henderson, Strategy Director, IBM Smarter Commerce. “The big winners were chief marketing officers who used technology to deliver customer experiences that not only connected shoppers with personalized deals but did so at the right touchpoint and at precisely the right time and place, whether on their couch or the store floor.”

“To remain relevant, retailers must find opportunities to participate in holiday rituals in ways that aid consumers’ attainment of the holidays they imagine — enjoying time with family and shopping when convenient,” said Tonya Bradford Assistant Professor, Mendoza School of Business, the University of Notre Dame. “Technology provides more opportunities for retailers to create these experiences for consumers through their mobile computing devices.”

Holiday sales growth was led by several industries which include:

• Department stores continued to offer compelling deals and promotions that drove sales to grow by 16.8 percent over Black Friday 2011.

• Health and Beauty sales increased 11 percent year over year with consumers once again choosing to pamper themselves this holiday.

• Home goods maintained its momentum this year, reporting a 28.2 percent increase in sales from Black Friday 2011.

• Apparel sales were also strong this holiday with Black Friday numbers showing an increase of 17.5 percent over 2011.

Today’s news is based on findings from the IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark, the industry’s only cloud-based Web analytics platform that tracks more than a million e-commerce transactions a day, analyzing terabytes of raw data from 500 retailers nationwide. Analysis of public social media content came from the IBM Social Sentiment Index, an advanced analytics and natural language processing tool that analyzes large volumes of social media data to assess public opinions. With this data IBM helps chief marketing officers (CMOs) better understand and respond to the needs of each individual customer, improving sourcing, inventory management, marketing, sales and services programs.

More information on Smarter Commerce can be found at www.ibm.com/smarterplanet/us/en/smarter_commerce/overview/

IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pUXduuOosk

IBM Black Friday InfoGraphic: http://www.smartercommerceblog.com/smartermarketing/2012/11/24/2012-ibm-black-friday-cyber-monday-benchmark-results/

Click here for Free Download: 2012 Black Friday report

InfoGraphic: Shopping trends from Black Friday 2012

Mobile Commerce Index: Huge Gains in Thanksgiving Day Online Shopping

PITTSBURGH, Nov. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Branding Brand, a mobile commerce platform used by major retailers today announced the results of its Mobile Commerce Index for Thanksgiving Day, which showed substantial increases in consumers shopping on smartphones.  The Branding Brand Mobile Commerce Index is a compilation of 66 mobile sites developed by Branding Brand for retailers across a variety of industries including apparel, health and beauty, and home goods. The Index is the largest collection of data on commerce sites specifically designed for smartphones, as opposed to non-optimized desktop sites with mobile traffic.

The Index had the following Thanksgiving Day results:

• 3,086,154 visitors (63% iOS; 32% Android)
• 17,364,602 page views (62% iOS; 33% Android)
• 29,880 orders (70% iOS; 29% Android)
• $81 average order value ($81 iOS; $80 Android)
• 20.25% of total e-commerce traffic came from smartphones

Compared to 2011, the Branding Brand Mobile Commerce Index showed the following year-over-year gains for the 26 mobile sites and apps tracked during both periods:

• Visits increased 103%
• Page views increased 133%
• Average order value increased 19%
• Mobile sales increased 221%

“While Thanksgiving Day has traditionally been the quiet before the storm, 2012 was different,” said Chris Mason, co-founder and CEO of Branding Brand. “This year, many retailers opened on Thanksgiving or started their Black Friday deals early online. Those who were not at home turned to their phones to make sure they didn’t miss out.”

Branding Brand will release the results of its Mobile Commerce Index for Black Friday on Saturday, November 24. An extended report on the entire Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday period, including data on peak mobile shopping times, will be released in the upcoming week.

For more information, visit http://www.brandingbrand.com.

ShopperTrak: Retail Foot Traffic Up, Sales Slightly Down on Black Friday

CHICAGO, Nov. 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Black Friday proved to be a mixed bag for retailers, as retail foot traffic increased over last year, but retail sales decreased slightly. ShopperTrak, a global counter of retail foot traffic, estimates that, when compared to Black Friday last year, retail foot traffic rose 3.5 percent, to more than 307.67 million store visits. Retail sales decreased 1.8 percent, however, with shoppers spending an estimated total of $11.2 billion yesterday.

“Black Friday continues to be an important day in retail,” said Bill Martin, ShopperTrak founder. “This year, though, more retailers than last year began their ‘doorbuster’ deals on Thursday, Thanksgiving itself. So while foot traffic did increase on Friday, those Thursday deals attracted some of the spending that’s usually meant for Friday.”

ShopperTrak said that total foot traffic by region, compared to 2011 Black Friday, changed as follows:

Midwest: increased 12.9%

Northeast: increased 7.6%

South: increased 8.7%

West: decreased 11.3 %

Foot traffic increased by 0.7 percent in the apparel sector.

According to Martin, shoppers are returning to stores. Election-related distractions have ceased, the Northeast is recovering from extreme storms and consumer confidence is rising. Still, shoppers remain value-conscious, taking advantage of Black Friday deals – even if some of those deals started a bit early. “Black Friday shopping continues to expand into Thanksgiving Day and will impact the way we look at all of the ‘Black’ weekend results, since more shopping hours allows for more shopping visits and a smoothing of sales across all of the days,” said Martin.

Last year, Black Friday foot traffic increased over 2010 by 4.7%. In 2011, consumers spent $11.4 billion on Black Friday, up from $10.69 billion in 2010.

Overall, Black Friday has provided a strong kickoff to the main holiday shopping season – those days between Thanksgiving and Christmas. To sustain foot traffic and convert it into high sales, however, Martin says retailers will need to understand their shopper conversion rates to take full advantage of increased shopper opportunity.

Please follow this link to access graphics for Black Friday sales and foot traffic: www.shoppertrak.com/news-resources/news/2012-11/2012-black-friday-media-kit

Find out more at http://www.shoppertrak.com.

Statement by SEIU President Mary Kay Henry on Historic Walmart Protests Nationwide

RICHMOND, Calif., Nov. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Mary Kay Henry, president of the 2.1 million-member Service Employees International Union (SEIU), issued the following statement as thousands of Walmart workers nationwide walked off the job with the support of their communities on Black Friday:

“Today’s protests at Walmart stores across the country are a reminder of the enormous power of working people uniting to demand a better future with a living wage, affordable healthcare and respect on the job.  From this day on, ‘Black Friday’ should be remembered as a pivotal day for working people at Walmart and everywhere.

“I was proud to stand today with Walmart workers like Misty Tanner, clergy and community members in Richmond, California, who had the courage to call on Walmart to do right by its employees and treat them with respect.  Despite being fired a month ago after standing up to her store manager, Misty Tanner stood up again today for other Walmart workers who are being intimidated, retaliated against, and who cannot make ends meet, despite their hard work.

“This Thanksgiving holiday, I am thankful for courageous working people at Walmart stores, airports and corporations everywhere who are rising up to demand a living wage with benefits, respect, and a fair shot at the middle class that every worker should have in the richest nation in the world.  It is time for Walmart to take heed and stop putting profits ahead of the workers who are critical to their success as the largest retailer in the United States.”