20212021Black Friday Ecommerce Strategy & Stats Report2021 Black Friday Ecommerce Strategy & Stats Report.SaleCycle is trusted by over 500 of the worlds biggest ecommerce brands. We help brands to recover abandoned sales and boost online conversions by interacting with shoppers online. We engage with a range of different sectors using a suite of conversion and marketing solutions. All of our clients have a fully managed service with a dedicated account manager.2021 BLACK FRIDAY ECOMMERCE STRATEGY & STATS REPORT 02The best way to predict how Black Friday 2021 will play out is by looking back at past events and finding patterns within the data. In this report SaleCycle provides in-depth analysis and data based on previous Black Friday events (2020).Black Friday & Ecommerce.2021 BLACK FRIDAY ECOMMERCE STRATEGY & STATS REPORT 03Contents.Author.Brad WardSearch & Content Manager at SaleCycle Introduction - Black Friday & Ecommerce 3Online Traffic Trends 5Week Before Black Friday - TrafficBlack Friday Event - TrafficAdd-to-Cart Rates 12Week Before Black Friday - Add-to-Cart Rates Black Friday Event - Add-to-Cart RatesCart Abandonment Statistics 18Week Before Black Friday - Cart Abandonment RateBlack Friday Event - Cart Abandonment RateOnline Sales & Most Popular Products 25Week Before Black Friday - Products SoldBlack Friday Event - Products SoldProduct DrilldownSector by Sector 33Online Traffic - FashionOnline Traffic - RetailOnline Traffic - TravelBlack Friday EventAdd-to-Cart Rates Over TimeCart Abandonment Rates Over TimeThe Week After Black Friday 42Key Takeaways 46Useful Resources 472021 BLACK FRIDAY ECOMMERCE STRATEGY & STATS REPORT 04Online Traffic Trends.Black Friday is one of the busiest and most valuable days within the ecommerce calendar. The increase in online sales from 2019 to 2020 saw the biggest value increase since 2016. Consumers flock to their mobiles and desktops to hunt for a bargain. With the influx of consumers comes a major boost in online traffic. Understanding when online traffic peaks allows marketing campaigns to be more effective.All Data Shown Is SaleCycle Client Data 2021 BLACK FRIDAY ECOMMERCE STRATEGY & STATS REPORT 05Traffic by HourOnline traffic the week before Black Friday peaked at 19:00 and 20:00. However, Traffic begins to grow significantly from 16:00. WEEK BEFORE BLACK FRIDAYLearning the patterns of online shoppers the week before Black Friday will allow you to target the right areas and create effective marketing and conversion campaigns.By hour data is an average of all the days in the week before0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 236%8%4%2%2021 BLACK FRIDAY ECOMMERCE STRATEGY & STATS REPORT 06Traffic by DayThe chart shows online traffic growing day-on-day towards Black Friday. Online traffic peaked on Thursday (the day before Black Friday). But the general pattern of traffic grows with each day.0%FRI SAT SUN MON TUE WED THU5%10%15%20%2021 BLACK FRIDAY ECOMMERCE STRATEGY & STATS REPORT 07Traffic by DeviceOn the 24-hour chart we see that desktop online traffic peaks at 16:00 whereas mobile online traffic peaks at 20:00.0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 230%2%4%6%8%MOBILE DESKTOP2021 BLACK FRIDAY ECOMMERCE STRATEGY & STATS REPORT 08Traffic by DeviceAs we analyse the online traffic totals by device we see mobile accounted for 70% of all traffic on Black Friday 2020. With mobile tech becoming more advanced and ecommerce retailers improving their mobile user experience, this is only likely to become even greater. Its essential for retailers to focus the majority of their efforts for mobile. The amount of online users on mobile is growing in all sectors. 30%DESKTOP70%MOBILE2021 BLACK FRIDAY ECOMMERCE STRATEGY & STATS REPORT 09Traffic by HourOn Black Friday traffic peaked at 20:00 on the day. However, online users start browsing significantly from noon. So from noon to 20:00 is when online users are their most active.0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 230%2%4%6%BLACK FRIDAY EVENT2021 BLACK FRIDAY ECOMMERCE STRATEGY & STATS REPORT 107 out of 10 online shopping sessions on Black Friday are on mobile devices. Black Friday was worth $9 billion in 2020, which shows how important optimising conversions for mobile is. Traffic by DeviceDESKTOPMOBILE30%70%TRAFFIC BY DEVICE2021 BLACK FRIDAY ECOMMERCE STRATEGY & STATS REPORT 11Add-to-Cart Rates.All Data Below Is SaleCycle Client DataAdd-to-cart is when an online shopper adds an item to their digital cart. This shows significant buyer intent and offers ecommerce retailers an opportunity to send basket reminder emails or SMS to increase online sales.2021 BLACK FRIDAY ECOMMERCE STRATEGY & STATS REPORT 1215%10%5%0%FRI SAT SUN MON TUE WED THUWEEK BEFORE BLACK FRIDAYAdd-to-Cart Rates by DayAdd-to-cart rates increased day-on-day, which creates a picture of growing interest as the Black Friday event gets closer. Online shoppers begin to increase adding items to their cart from Monday to Thursday. This presents an opportunity for retailers to remind their customers of the products in their basket in time for Black Friday.2021 BLACK FRIDAY ECOMMERCE STRATEGY & STATS REPORT 13WEEK BEFORE BLACK FRIDAYAdd-to-Cart Rates by DeviceAlthough mobile traffic accounted for 70% the week before Black Friday we can see online shoppers show slightly more intent on Desktop.FRI0%5%10%15%SAT SUN MON TUE WED THUMOBILE DESKTOP2021 BLACK FRIDAY ECOMMERCE STRATEGY & STATS REPORT 14Add-to-Cart Rates by HourDuring Black Friday we can see 251,349 baskets created at midnight, suggesting eager shoppers wanting to get ahead of the crowd. This is the largest number of baskets created until 8:00. 21:00 is the peak time for baskets created. However, there is an initial rally of baskets created in the morning from 9:00 - 14:00. Then there is a lull for a few hours until 16:00 where activity picks up again towards the peak.BLACK FRIDAY EVENT0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 2314.01%13.77%13.87%14.30%14.62%14.78%14.30%14.17%13.91%14.03%14.05%14.14%13.87%14.23%14.43%14.78%14.97%15.34%15.62%16.50%16.92%17.05%16.80%16.25% OF ADD-TO-CART100,000100,000200,000300,000400,000500,0002021 BLACK FRIDAY ECOMMERCE STRATEGY & STATS REPORT 15Add-to-Cart T otalsThe total add-to-cart rate on Black Friday is 14.58% from 45,352,992 sessions. This shows there is much more intent to buy on the day, suggesting shoppers are waiting for the day to arrive. The amount of sessions is significantly more on the day too.020 NOV21 NOV22 NOV23 NOV24 NOV25 NOV26 NOV27 NOV10,000,00020,000,00030,000,00040,000,00050,000,00011.31%11.36%11.34%12.24%11.89%12.20%13.04%14.58%2021 BLACK FRIDAY ECOMMERCE STRATEGY & STATS REPORT 16Add-to-Cart Rates by Device13.28% of those 31.6m sessions on mobile added an item to their basket vs 17.55% of those 13.8m sessions on desktop.MOBILE DESKTOP5%10%15%20%0%20 NOV21 NOV22 NOV23 NOV24 NOV25 NOV26 NOV27 NOV2021 BLACK FRIDAY ECOMMERCE STRATEGY & STATS REPORT 17Cart Abandonment Statistics.Sales events tend to drive down cart abandonment rates, as shoppers take advantage of deals before promotions end, or products are sold out. On Black Friday 2020, we saw abandonment rates drop dramatically to 76.63%.These insights suggest that abandonment and conversion rate strategies will be most effective in the run up to Black Friday & the week after.All Data Below Is SaleCycle Client Data2021 BLACK FRIDAY ECOMMERCE STRATEGY & STATS REPORT 18Cart Abandonment Rate by HourThe abandoned cart volume notably grew from 10:00 and this volume of activity continued until 23:00. In this area of engagement volumes are at their highest at 21:00. Within this cluster of activity we can see abandonment rate between 21:00 - 23:00 is at its highest. 100%80%60%40%20%0%WEEK BEFORE BLACK FRIDAYBy hour data is an average of all the days in the week before0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 232021 BLACK FRIDAY ECOMMERCE STRATEGY & STATS REPORT 19Cart Abandonment Rate by DayThe week before Black Friday presents a huge opportunity to position your cart abandonment email and SMS strategy accordingly. Shoppers abandon their carts all the time for various reasons, but having the right tools to remind them of their purchase can recover online sales at a solid rate. The volume of abandoned carts peaked on Thursday, the day before Black Friday. But as we can see via the chart, the abandonment rate is at its lowest on this day. Suggesting shoppers are adding items to their cart and leaving them to complete their purchase on Black Friday. The highest abandonment rate is on the Monday at the start of the week.1,000,000 25%2,000,000 50%3,000,000 75%4,000,000 100%FRISUNSATMONTUEWEDTHUVOLUME ABANDONMENT %2021 BLACK FRIDAY ECOMMERCE STRATEGY & STATS REPORT 20DESKTOP MOBILECart Abandonment Rate by DeviceThe volume of abandonments on mobile is 34% higher than desktop, which is understandable given the volume of traffic on mobile compared to desktop. Its interesting to note that abandonment volume on mobile over the weekend is considerably higher than desktop. As customers are away from their desktops there is far more browsing and online shopping being done on mobile.As highlighted, we can see the percentage of total abandonment volume on mobile is 67% compared to desktop. Its clear that online shoppers are more active on mobile. SMS remarketing, such as abandonment messages could be an effective tool during the lead up to Black Friday. FRI SAT SUN MON TUE WED THU1,709,4891,922,1071,956,9652,074,1061,975,4242,069,4452,323,530837,618760,482800,4851,108,9891,051,9571,087,3121,231,8640%100%50%25%75%DESKTOP33%MOBILE67%2021 BLACK FRIDAY ECOMMERCE STRATEGY & STATS REPORT 21Cart Abandonment by HourOn-chart analysis shows a large cluster of volume on Black Friday, which starts from 9:00 and runs through until 23:00. The average abandonment rate for ecommerce in 2020 was 81.01% so we can also see a dramatic decrease in abandonment rates on Black Friday, which varied between 75% - 77%. This means online shoppers have much more intent to buy. Volume peaked at 21:00 and also registered the lowest abandonment rate of the day. It seems online shopping activity is high all day.0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 2325%50%75%100%0%BLACK FRIDAY EVENT201,558151,905107,75785,80976,48477,66675,671128,490190,474247,715278,656279,546270,457262,914248,702236,886237,636242,964259,084271,066279,609301,523298,320265,7792021 BLACK FRIDAY ECOMMERCE STRATEGY & STATS REPORT 22Desktop abandonment volume is much lower than mobile.Cart Abandonment by DeviceDESKTOP ABANDONMENT VOLUME1,754,913DESKTOP ABANDONMENT PERCENTAGE72.43%MOBILE ABANDONMENT VOLUME3,311,049MOBILE ABANDONMENT PERCENTAGE79.06%1,000,000 25%0 0%2,000,000 50%3,000,0004,000,00075%100%2021 BLACK FRIDAY ECOMMERCE STRATEGY & STATS REPORT 23Cart Abandonment T otalThe average cart abandonment rate for Black Friday was 76.63% and for the week before it was 80.82%. Both the Black Friday event and the week leading up to it saw a lower abandonment rate than the yearly average of 81.01%.81.01%76.63%5,065,952AVERAGE YEARLY ABT RATEBLACK FRIDAYTOTAL ABT VOL2021 BLACK FRIDAY ECOMMERCE STRATEGY & STATS REPORT 24Online Sales & Most Popular Products.All Data Below Is SaleCycle Client DataBlack Friday is one of the most popular online sales events of the year and has grown in sales volume year on year. The increase in online sales from 2019 to 2020 has seen the biggest value increase since 2016, so this holiday has no signs of slowing down.In 2020 online sales hit $9 billion, which saw an increase from 2019 at $7.4 billion and 2018 at $6.2 billion. 2021 online sales is projected to increase by another 20%. 2021 BLACK FRIDAY ECOMMERCE STRATEGY & STATS REPORT 25Products Sold by HourOnline sales peaked at 21:00. However 10:00 and 11:00 also saw very high online sales volume compared to the rest of the day.WEEK BEFORE BLACK FRIDAYBy hour data is an average of all the days in the week before0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23100,000200,000300,0002021 BLACK FRIDAY ECOMMERCE STRATEGY & STATS REPORT 26WEEK BEFORE BLACK FRIDAYProducts Sold by DayAs expected, online sales volume peaked on Thursday, the day before Black Friday. Perhaps due to retailers offering early bird sales.FRI SAT SUN MON TUE WED THU200,000400,000600,000800,0001,000,0002021 BLACK FRIDAY ECOMMERCE STRATEGY & STATS REPORT 27WEEK BEFORE BLACK FRIDAYProducts Sold by DeviceBlack Friday and online shopping has gradually become a mobile shopping event. The majority of online sales comes from mobile devices at 56%. There is clearly still a demand for desktop, but there is a shift towards mobile, which is getting stronger each year.44%56%MOBILEDESKTOP2021 BLACK FRIDAY ECOMMERCE STRATEGY & STATS REPORT 28Products Sold by HourOn Black Friday 21:00 is clearly the most popular time for customers to purchase. Theres also a morning cluster of online sales volume from 9:00 until noon. Mid-afternoon sees a slight dip before a spike in online sales from 17:00.0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 2320,00040,00060,00080,000100,000BLACK FRIDAY EVENT2021 BLACK FRIDAY ECOMMERCE STRATEGY & STATS REPORT 29Products Sold by DeviceMobile accounts for the majority of online sales on the day with a 57% share.2021 BLACK FRIDAY ECOMMERCE STRATEGY & STATS REPORT 3043%57%DESKTOPMOBILEFitbits and Kindles have the lowest cart abandonment rate on Black Friday. This suggests shoppers already had the intention of purchasing this product. Xbox and Nintendo Switch had the highest cart abandonment rate. Its also important to note the average order value on these products will be much higher and therefore could influence abandonment.BagJumper/SweaterEarphones/HeadphonesCoatJacketBodysuitFitbitControllerJeansCardiganHoodieDressJogger FRIDAY20/11/2021TUESDAY24/11/2021SATURDAY21/11/2021WEDNESDAY25/11/2021SUNDAY22/11/2021THURSDAY26/11/2021MONDAY23/11/2021BLACK FRIDAY27 /11/2021PRODUCT DRILLDOWNItems Abandoned Over TimeWe take an in-depth look at some of the most popular products being abandoned in the week leading up to Black Friday and Black Friday itself. 74.42%83.21%87.14%87.47%85.95%85.08%80.99%84.49%85.48%80.36%83.68%54.23%70.83%75.47%84.02%84.66%85.39%85.68%85.80%80.98%85.04%83.76%80.86%81.99%54.26%68.67%75.77%84.53%85.11%85.96%86.09%85.09%81.10%84.99%83.57%81.56%82.85%49.53%79.59%74.42%85.54%88.54%88.36%88.36%86.62%84.85%86.79%87.86%82.42%85.92%67.56%69.60%76.00%85.13%86.91%87.08%87.46%85.03%82.72%85.97%87.02%82.26%84.82%61.90%71.79%74.72%84.31%86.44%85.99%86.60%85.22%82.72%85.41%85.89%82.12%83.59%50.97%76.42%74.42%82.95%80.95%82.27%84.26%83.18%80.61%83.03%83.35%80.65%80.13%49.25%74.55%73.41%79.22%78.00%79.45%80.73%75.54%76.92%78.76%79.03%76.77%76.80%48.16%71.13%2021 BLACK FRIDAY ECOMMERCE STRATEGY & STATS REPORT 31Cart abandonment on earphones/headphones and video games drops significantly on Black Friday going agains