(Newswire.net — December 9, 2017) — With the well-documented craze of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, online shopping has continued to boom year-over-year to the excitement of business and consumers alike.
And according to the numbers, 2017’s biggest holiday shopping weekend did not disappoint.
Breaking Down the Ecommerce Boom
As reported by the likes of TechCrunch and CNN, Black Friday through Cyber Monday 2017 was noted as Amazon’s largest shopping day ever; meanwhile, American shoppers spent a record $5 billion within 24 hours on that Friday alone.
These numbers are certainly staggering and prove the shift toward the rise of ecommerce, especially given Amazon’s current hold on the ecommerce marketplace.
But what exactly does this news spell for other businesses selling their wares online?
On one hand, it means that consumers are more comfortable than ever when it comes to ecommerce. But on the flip side, it also means that competition is becoming fiercer than ever in an ever-growing, digital retail space.
Why Mobile is a Difference-Maker
It’s time for e-tailers to start looking toward the future in terms of keeping up with trends and understanding how to continue driving sales. For businesses of all shapes and sizes, aggressive mobile marketing is a key component of keeping up the momentum.
Because not only is the public shopping online like never before, but they’re also shopping on-the-go at a rate that many businesses are having trouble keeping up with.
This is exactly why we’re seeing more and more brands building mobile apps on iOS and Android to have instant access to their customers at a moment’s notice. Anyone who downloads a digital retailer’s app is obviously a prime candidate for repeat business and frequent discounts.
Similarly, brands are dedicating more of their time and budget to mobile-specific marketing. Such tactics include a combination of the following:
- Social ads: Facebook ads, highly-targeted and great for scrolling shoppers, have a particularly high engagement rate via mobile
- Email marketing: with more readers interacting with their inboxes on mobile devices, a renewed emphasis on deals and discounts through email should come as no surprise
- Community engagement: similarly, using the likes of Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to promote offers and funnel followers to storefronts has become common practice
How Else E-Tailers are Optimizing Their Storefronts
Other additional trends for e-tailers to keep in mind include the fact that bigger purchases are still being made overwhelmingly via desktop versus mobile devices. While this trend won’t last forever, it’s still a major point of interest for merchants banking solely on high-ticket items. Variety is key when it comes to reaching shoppers as many shoppers as possible.
Additionally, the details of design and UX represent high priorities for merchants who want the best of both worlds in regard to their clientele. Failing to reach mobile shoppers due to design decisions can be a huge thorn in the sides of e-tailers who’ve solely focused on their desktop stores. Small details such as making storefronts scroll-friendly and responsive to mobile screens are must-do’s versus options these days.
Succeeding in ecommerce is about so much more than slapping up a generic storefront and calling it a day. With so much competition out there, it’s paramount for e-tailers to look for opportunities to fine-tune how they approach their customers and create a stellar mobile experience at the same time. These experiences could be make-or-break for even the biggest brands out there as digital sales continue to tick upward for the time being.