E-Commerce Trends on Black Friday

Trends and Results for Black Friday E-Commerce in 2022

What impact does the intense e-commerce promotion around Black Friday have on business outcomes? We were able to give unique insights into patterns and genuine KPI results using aggregated data from our client base along with global figures from this year's holiday season.
Although the origins of Black Friday may be traced back to 1950, the notion has evolved multiple times since then. The one-day sales frenzy has evolved into a four-day, even a week-long event, and has spawned new "retail holidays" including Singles Day and Cyber Monday. It is not uncommon for retailers, both physical and digital, to begin their bargains as early as November and continue with discounts in some form or another until Christmas.

Consumer Behavior on Black Friday Has Changed

However, since consumers have become more ecologically sensitive in recent years, several companies have decided to avoid the Black Friday buying frenzy.

According to Avensia's Chief Strategist, Johan Sommar, there has been a shift in customer behavior in both physical and e-commerce buying during Black Friday in recent years:

"Up until recently, businesses could profit from the Black Friday phenomenon by piggybacking on it. However, to attract both existing and new clients, they now require a more aggressive offer. It's not enough to make a good deal or give a good discount and expect a lot of sales and traffic to come your way. This also decides whether to go all-in on Black Friday discounts, or not at all, more essential for most businesses," he says.

E-Commerce Trends for Black Friday in 2022

Today, many businesses have a firm grasp on how to approach the Black Friday season. They recognize that their customers have a solid awareness of regular prices vs. discounts and that if a firm posts a "dishonest" deal by accident (or on purpose), they will not hesitate to inform the world via social media. Customer communication should be transparent and open at all times of the year, but it's more critical during the Black Friday season.

Another recent development is that shoppers now anticipate better shopping experiences than they did previously, rather than merely bargains. When shoppers raced to the site a few years ago, it was not uncommon for e-commerce platforms to crash. This was a unique experience that did not affect the firm in any way, but rather enhanced the Black Friday purchasing experience.

Today, however, there are almost no issues since systems are more reliable and uptime is frequently 100 percent. Consumers have grown accustomed to a seamless and quick purchasing experience and will no longer tolerate delays or interruptions. E-commerce enterprises may escape the "high-alert mode" thanks to more reliable technologies, and employees can focus on day-to-day duties during the Black Friday e-commerce sales season.

Performance on Black Friday in 2022

In general, Black Friday and Cyber Week sales were more spread out in 2021, beginning earlier and with lesser discounts. Due to the ease of finding and comparing discounts, as well as the convenience of avoiding crowds, e-commerce still accounted for a significant share of sales. According to Adobe Analytics, however, sales on Black Friday and Cyber Monday were lower than in 2020. This tendency is echoed in Avensia's customer research, which found that the majority of clients in this report had lower figures in 2021 than in 2020.

Our consumers were divided into four categories in our report:

Cosmetics & Beauty

Outdoor & Sports

Design & Fashion

Other / Consumer Goods

Clients at all stages of e-commerce site maturity are represented in the report, including both long-term Avensia customers and those who have launched a new site with Avensia in the recent year. Customers for whom Avensia serves only as a strategic advice partner have also been featured. In addition, the analysis focuses on retail customers in both B2C and D2C environments, where the Black Friday idea is primarily applied.

Remarkable Results

There appears to have been a return to in-store beauty shopping in the Beauty & Cosmetics area. When compared to the same period last year, the total number of users on the websites was more or less the same during the Black Friday month (November). However, in terms of web traffic, the rise from typical months to November was nearly 70%.

During Black Friday, sports and outdoor shops did exceptionally well. When comparing November to the usual months or 2020, the average data from Avensia's customers reveal no significant change in traffic and other KPIs. Return visits, on the other hand, increased the greatest in this sector in November 2021. One of the top three areas where social media has a significant impact on sales is sports and outdoor equipment, particularly among Millennial customers.

We witnessed a staggering 63 percent drop in traffic in the Fashion & Design section compared to last year's Black Friday timeframe!

Within this portion, another pattern emerged. Buy-now, pay-later (BNPL) fashion orders increased by 35 percent year over year.

Customers in the Consumer Goods / Other market faced a higher potential for disappointment due to supply chain issues globally. There was also a split between big-name businesses and tiny independents, with many of the latter opting to skip Black Friday altogether. For our customers in this area, the conversion rate actually declined during Black Friday compared to ordinary months.