2018 Findings Guide Retail Marketing and Customer Experience for 2019 Holiday Shopping

Customer Portfolios, a marketing technology leader that uses actionable insights and analytics to increase customer engagement and value, announces the results of its in-depth review of numerous retail clients during the 2018 holiday shopping period, helping marketers plan for the upcoming holiday season.

“2018 holiday shopping trends during Thanksgiving week showed a significant increase from the previous year — spread throughout the week — increasing the opportunity for customer engagement,” said Augie MacCurrach, Customer Portfolios CEO. “Single-day events, like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, are no longer the focus of shoppers. Rather, holiday shopping, both in-store and online, is spreading throughout the week. In 2019, retailers need to adjust staffing and marketing promotions accordingly.”

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Key Findings from 2018 Holiday Shopping Season:

Revenue

• Good year for retail: Total revenue for the week was up an average of 16%
• Black Friday revenue was up an average of 16.2%
• Online deals are spreading out all week: Cyber Monday revenue was up an average of 3.4%, and 40% of the retailers had lowest revenue increase on Cyber Monday
• Highest Revenue gains are spread out: 40% had highest revenue gains on Thanksgiving, but 40% had highest revenue gains on Sunday

Customers

• More people were shopping this week: Total Average Customers are up 11%
• Black Friday was up an average of 19.2%
• Cyber Monday was up an average of 1.4%
• Highest Gains are spread out: Like revenue, 40% of retailers had highest customer gains on Sunday, and 40% had highest revenue gains on Thanksgiving

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Orders

• People made more orders: Total average orders up 10%
• Black Friday orders went up 17.4%
• Cyber Monday orders were flat (on average) – 60% had lowest gains on Cyber Monday
• Highest Gains were spread out: 40% had highest order gains on Sunday, 40% had highest order gains on Thanksgiving

“The question for 2019 is whether this week of promotions and shopping will continue to stretch,” continued MacCurrach. “Will customers be shopping earlier in November, and later into December, further reducing the impact of single day promotions on Black Friday and Cyber Monday? Retail marketers that can recognize and respond to individual customers across touchpoints during this entire critical holiday shopping period will find a message-receptive audience.”

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