Those wondering whether Black Friday is dead now have their answer.
Verizon this weekend said it saw a 39 percent jump year over year in peak network traffic during the Black Friday ecommerce rush this year as well as a 9 percent increase in overall ecommerce traffic volume in 2016 versus 2015.
According to the carrier’s Retail Index, which tracks ecommerce traffic across Verizon’s broadband networks to the top 25 U.S.-based online retailers, the Friday boost followed a similar bump from those who didn’t wait for the holiday to be over before starting shopping.
On Thanksgiving Day, Verizon said it saw a 22 percent increase in peak ecommerce traffic as well as a 10 percent increase in overall ecommerce traffic volumes.
Verizon Enterprise Solutions’ Group Vice President for Retail, Distribution, and Hospitality Michele Dupré said the surge was evidence of successful digital marketing strategies.
“Retailers have learned to engage consumers in a digital world given shopper response to Black Friday promotions,” Dupré said. “The focus on refining the digital experience however must strike the right balance with engagement strategies that make stores destinations.”
But Verizon is far from the only one tracking the holiday rush, and stats from some of the other trackers are quite impressive.
According to Adobe, retailers raked in a massive $3.34 billion in online sales on Black Friday, representing year-over-year growth of 21.6 percent and surpassing expected sales of $3.05 billion. By comparison, online sales hit just $1.93 billion on Thanksgiving Day, Adobe said.
Notably, Adobe said this Black Friday “made history” as the first day ever to bring in more than a billion dollars in online sales from mobile devices alone, with a total of $1.2 billion. Mobile sales jumped 33 percent year over year to account for 36 percent of total sales on Black Friday, Adobe noted.
Adobe’s data indicates mobile is catching up to desktop as a conduit for ecommerce. Where desktop this year accounted for 45 percent of site visits and 64 percent of sales on Black Friday, mobile posted a strong 55 percent of visits and 36 percent of sales. In a separate statement, major retailer Walmart said more than 70 percent of traffic to its Walmart.com website during Black Friday was driven by mobile.
Among mobile devices, smartphones have a substantial lead over tablets, with 45 percent of overall mobile visits and 25 percent of overall mobile sales compared to 10 percent of visits and 11 percent of sales on tablets. Adobe also noted iOS users are outspending Android users, with average order values of $142 and $130, respectively.
Despite massive sales from wireless carriers and indications that many consumers would be looking to purchase a smartphone over the holidays, Adobe noted the top grossing electronics on Black Friday were iPads, Samsung 4K TVs, Macbooks, LG TVs, and the Xbox.
