While the Black Friday in store shopping remained as popular as ever, it's clear that online shopping has become as influential as in-store in the retail landscape. PayPal’s 2017 Holiday Money Habits study finds that 80% of shoppers in the U.S. will shop on a mobile device this season, with almost half (45 percent) of Americans claiming mobile as their preferred device.
Even more insane (and maybe a little more rude?) 22% of Americans will shop at the dinner table, up from 14% last year.
Online sales can often lead to a frenzy of buying—take experimental brands like Yeezy, with items selling out in seconds after an online raffle. November and December will rise 3.6 percent to 4 percent this year, versus a 4 percent increase last year. Non-store sales, which include online sales and those from kiosks, are expected to rise 11 percent-15 percent to about $140 billion.
Notably, Walmart encountered some controversy when their Black Friday online sales led to certain items being totally sold out in minutes. Customers took to social media to voice their complains, with Walmart responding being forced to issue a statement: "Black Friday is about offering our customers some of the best prices on the hottest items. Even with significant inventory, hot items on Black Friday sell quickly online." According to ComScore, Walmart.com as of 2017 was receiving almost half a billion unique visitors to the site—if you consider the influx of customers on Black Friday, you can imagine how items can sell out so quickly. With Walmart's putting close to a billion dollars into their online infrastructure, it's clear that e-commerce is the newest competitive landscape for big box retailers.
The holiday season spanning November and December is crucial for retailers because it can account for as much as 40 percent of annual sales. U.S. shoppers had splurged more than $1.52 billion online by Thanksgiving evening, with more than 70 percent of traffic being driven by mobile.
But if all this talk of items being out of stock is stressing you out for your own gift giving, don't worry: great products and prices are still available on the site today and will be throughout the rest of the season. Happy e-shopping!