How was the 2014 Holiday Shopping Season?

Now that the holidays are behind us and 2015 is here, it’s a good time to take a look back at the results of the 2014 Holiday Shopping Season.  I spent some time this week reading various articles that were full of interesting statistics on the shopping season.

Perhaps the most interesting statistic for me was the explosive growth of Cyber Monday.  According to a recent post in the Business Insider,  Cyber Monday sales increased a total of 8.7% from 2013, but the really interesting twist was the HUGE increase in mobile sales.  In 2014, Mobile sales increased by 29.3% from the previous year and accounted for 1 in 5 total Cyber Monday transactions. WOW!!  That’s a tremendous increase and certainly solidifies the use of mobile technologies going forward. However, although more people are taking advantage of Cyber Monday, the average transaction price seems to remain flat at $133.07, possibly indicating that “shoppers are becoming more comfortable and digitally savvy in how they use online coupons and rebates to secure the best bargains.”

Whatever the case may be, I think it’s safe to say that Mobile platforms are fast becoming the preferred method for shopping especially among the 18-29 demographic.

Another interesting statistic from this holiday season was the drop in actual shoppers on Black Friday. According to this same article, the total Thanksgiving weekend spending declined by 11% from the previous year and stores saw about 6 million fewer shoppers than expected.  Some blame this on the fact that many retailers had sales and promotions before Black Friday that diluted Black Friday traffic.  That may be true, or…….. perhaps people prefer the ease and comfort that online shopping allows.  Let’s face it, shopping from your easy chair is a lot nicer than fighting throngs of people and waiting in long lines.

Dilip Barot is the Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Etech Global Services, and founder of Creative Choice Group, headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.  Etech employs 2,500 team members across the US, India and Jamaica.  If you would like to learn more about Etech, contact info@etechgs.com for more information