Black Friday Statistics 2020: Consumers Shifting Preference Toward E-Commerce & Mobile Shopping

Every year on Black Friday, shoppers strap on their running shoes and get ready to wait in long line ups to brave the lunacy of the malls for those exclusive deals of the year. For some, it can be a daunting experience with the crowds, lineups and competition for parking… just to get a deal. It is a tradition that has become less appealing with modern advancements in online shopping.

It’s no wonder that people are taking advantage of the more convenient and pleasant ways to shop through the web. Nothing beats sitting at home in your pajamas shopping for your favourite things, knowing they’ll be delivered right to your door.

People are now taking the convenience factor one step further, shopping from anywhere, at any time on their smartphones. Imagine a long commute to work on a train and having nothing but time to kill. What better way to maximize your time by shopping for what you need and want, all before you get to work? Mobile based purchases have quickly gained popularity with consumers and are finding traction for retailers with high growth.

This year – more than ever before, consumers shifted from shopping online on their desktops/laptops to shopping online via their smartphones or tablets, enjoying a more portable retail experience. Shopping on a mobile device offers handheld convenience and 24/7 access. Users can share pictures and links on social media and via text messaging of goods they are planning to purchase, which also makes mobile phone shopping more interactive and desirable. All of these factors are ultimately driving more purchases on smartphones.

Black Friday Online Shopping and Black Friday Mobile Purchase Processing

Black Friday remains the busiest shopping day of the year. As the day after US Thanksgiving, it officially kicks off the holiday shopping season. For retailers, the holiday season (between Black Friday and Christmas) is a crucial time, as that’s when they pull in about 30 percent of their annual sales. For some retailers such as jewelers, that number is even higher, at almost 40 percent.

MONEXgroup recognizes the need for retailers to adapt to these new payment trends. And since more and more people are making purchases on their mobile devices, why not also accept payments on mobile devices? While consumers are looking for faster and more convenient ways to pay, businesses are also looking for faster and more convenient ways to accept payments. Mobile payments are beneficial for both consumers and retailers. Payments are processed in real time at the point of sale, so businesses can potentially save time typically spent chasing after unpaid invoices. And consumers can enjoy an unparalleled convenience of purchasing what they need or want from anywhere.

For online payment processing Canada, the Clover Virtual Terminal, allows businesses to accept debit and credit card payments while on the go with EMV certified security. It offers a fast and convenient payment processing solution for mobile businesses that works from virtually anywhere. Mobile Checkout Plus is geared towards mobile businesses such as food trucks, freelance stylists, delivery services, taxi services, masseuses or any other mobile business. By offering user-friendly solutions for accepting popular forms of payment, namely Debit and Credit cards, we can help businesses maximize their revenues by ensuring they never miss an opportunity to close a sale! All it takes is a simple connection of the miniature PIN Pad via Bluetooth to a supported iOS / Android / Windows smartphone or tablet. It offers mobile merchants with unparalleled convenience, with minimal hardware and overhead cost.

In the past, smartphones were used mainly for browsing, and not actual transactions. But people are now shopping from anywhere they can get wifi! Although shoppers will never completely abandon brick-and-mortar stores, the shift is definitely moving towards online mobile shopping. Shoppers have come to expect their favourite retailers to offer a convenient online option – mobile friendly websites that allow them to make quick, convenient and secure purchases. On Black Friday in 2017, purchases made on mobile devices totaled a record 36.9 percent of all sales, and 54.3 percent of all site visits. This works out to just under $2 billion in sales. Smartphones accounted for 44.6% of visits and 26.0% of revenue.

Stores like Best Buy and Wal-Mart often try to get Black Friday shoppers into their stores by offering some of their hot ticket sale items exclusively in-store. Even still, some shoppers will not give in, since they don’t want to deal with the hustle and bustle of the Black Friday crowds. Wal-Mart stocked DVDs, pajamas and other items customers normally prefer to pick up in store, but still, more than 75 percent of the most popular toys were bought on walmart.com.

With the shift to online smartphone shopping, retailers will have to ensure that their websites are more mobile friendly, and have a reliable e-commerce back-end for processing transactions securely. MONEXgroup offers a cutting-edge suite of integrated E-Commerce solutions that help convert online browsers into buyers with a seamless and secure online purchase experience.

Why the sudden shift to online mobile shopping? Although online shopping in general has seen a rapid increase in the past few years, it’s typically been through a desktop/laptop. But mobile phone based shopping has increased immensely in the past two years. Smartphones have been becoming more indispensable, managing a very large portion of our lives, and replacing other items like cameras, alarm clocks and date books. So desktops and laptops are the next natural thing that smartphones are replacing.

All this new technology caters to the consumer so that they can shop from anywhere, but what about the merchant? Businesses need to consider offering more modern payment methods, supporting mobile payments and even unattended contactless payment solutions via kiosks where possible. MONEXgroup has payment processing solutions that help businesses offer speed and convenience from anywhere. For businesses that offer mobile services such as massage, hair care, or personal assistance, a smartphone is all they need to collect payments from anywhere, so a smartphone can now replace a cash register as well!

With technology yielding new levels of convenience, consumers have come to expect retailers to offer faster and more convenient methods of shopping. And retailers have obliged. Most of the larger retailers have drastically improved their mobile websites to give shoppers a better online experience. Many retailers have invested in making their websites mobile friendly so that shoppers have the confidence to shop conveniently and securely, and they are beginning to see years of investments on digital platforms, mobile apps and pricing software starting to pay off.

Another factor that may be contributing to this trend is that Smartphones are also being designed with larger and better quality screens. Shoppers are able to see clear, detailed images of the items they want to purchase on their large high resolution screens. Texting apps available on smartphones also make it easier for shoppers to communicate faster with each other, compare items and share images and other info about products through texting web links and images.

You may have heard the term “The Amazon Effect” which refers to the ongoing evolution of e-commerce and the disruption it’s had on the retail market, both online and in physical outlets. The name comes from Amazon’s early adoption of e-commerce and its continuing domination in online sales, which has caused the disruption in the retail market, mainly in the bricks and mortar outlets. Amazon remains the top e-commerce retailer, which accounts for about 31% of all US ecommerce purchases. That’s almost a $2.5 trillion industry!

Make Sure Your Mobile Payment Processing is Ready for the Future

For the first time ever, mobile orders outnumbered those placed on computer purchase: mobile accounted for 61% of all web traffic to retail sites on Thanksgiving Day, according to Salesforce, and shoppers placed 48% more orders on smartphones. Traffic has been strong, and growing stronger with every passing year, but 2017 marks a real shift in conversion rates as shoppers didn’t just browse, they bought. The numbers are only expected to rise. For those who have not adapted their websites to be mobile friendly, do so as soon as you can, as this is the future of online shopping!