Source: Forbes Business
What you need to know:
In 2016, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday online sales totaled $12.8 billion, a 15.2% bump from the same period in 2015. The 2016 Cyber Monday totals reached $3.45 billion in sales, the biggest single day in US e-commerce history. For the weekend as a whole, mobile accounted for an astounding 40% of all sales, an amazing statistic for a shopping holiday that was once dominated by brick-and-mortar sales.
Sixty percent of shoppers currently use their phones to do research, even when in store, to look up product information, do price comparisons and check online reviews.
Mobile sales accounted for $1.24 billion of sales of 2017 Cyber Monday.
Millennials are focusing on causes like #givingTuesday and less on Black Friday. Seventy-five percent of shoppers, ages 13-35, will opt to spread their shopping out over the weeks following Thanksgiving, rather than splurge on sales the weekend after.
Seventy-eight percent of consumers rely on social media to guide purchasing decisions.
“Marketers who want to grab the tail of this Black Friday comet will need to plan and tidy up their mobile presence in anticipation of the big day. Some things to consider include optimizing shopping interfaces, cleaning up mobile ads and product feeds, creating friendly CTAs and accommodating the diversity of mobile devices as well as payment methods.” – Amahl Williams FORBES COUNCILS
What does this mean for influencers? Sources: Forbes Business + CUKER
Google estimates that U.S. retail e-Commerce sales are expected to increase up to 16% during this holiday season. What does that mean for influencers and the social media industry they live and love by?
It means that the trends our influencers love are right there at our fingertips…literally. In the last three years, the retail industry has experienced the mobile takeover. Products, product research, trend research, social media and influencers are right there on our phones and can be reached in a matter of seconds. The interactions with influencers through social media have made trends more tangible and easier to touch than in the past. At the end of last year, the number of those shopping from mobile devices during the holiday season increased by 59% compared to the previous year. That number is already on the rise for this year.
The shopping experience as a whole relies on a mobile device whether the consumer is in a brick-and-mortar or sitting on their sofa. The ability to “swipe up to purchase,” “click to purchase” or “pay via PayPal” allows influencers to create in-the-moment CTAs that prove to brands how valuable their partnership is. It not only shows what traffic looks like, but how they can drive action with their audience and what “influence” really looks like in terms of sales.
Images are wonderful to create trends and we all love a great photo, but we also know that social media is moving in the direction of video. With video, influencers can cover multiple trends with multiple looks in a matter of minutes. YouTube has launched vertical videos on its app, which means it will be easier for influencers to film video on their phone and upload saved content from Snapchat and Instagram.
Moral Of the Story Influencers are influencers for a reason, but they have more and more trend influence with the continued development of mobile application in research and shopping. There is also the capability to provide solid CTAs and show a brand they can drive more than just traffic and help build a long-lasting relationship.