Social is hyped for Cyber Five festivities
According to Adobe Analytics data, Black Friday and Cyber Monday in 2019 were so popular that US shoppers spent a record $28.49 billion online. That’s an increase of 17.7% compared to 2018’s takings.
And, perhaps even more exciting for online retailers in 2020, Alibaba estimated an incredible $75bn in total sales from this year’s Singles Day (the huge shopping holiday in China that takes place on November 11). That figure has doubled since last year, providing additional hope that this Black Friday could be the biggest ever.
Looking at online conversations using our Consumer Research platform, we’ve found that early hype for the event adds fuel to the idea that we’re moving towards a record-breaking Cyber Five.
Initial mentions of Black Friday in the first two weeks of November were 165% higher in 2020 compared to the average volumes of 2017, 2018, and 2019 in the same period. The hype is real this year.
These are all encouraging stats for online retailers, but what’s driving the great expectations around the shopping holiday this year? And how have consumer shopping preferences shifted since last year?
Consumer needs have changed considerably
Last year when we looked at Black Friday and Cyber Monday conversation on social media we found that many consumers wanted to use their purchasing power to support local and independent stores. Some wanted to completely avoid the event for environmental reasons.
In 2020, people are continuing to be mindful of supporting local and independent businesses. We found 63k mentions of this relating to Cyber Five events on social media, and it’s something that we’ve seen throughout the pandemic.
While shopping local and supporting independent stores appear to have continued as consumer priorities, environmental concerns have not.
