New data shows that eCommerce traffic was up this holiday season, even after Christmas Day.
According to the 2018 Holiday Retail Index by Verizon, average daily eCommerce traffic to the top 25 U.S. retailers increased by 7.5 percent year-over-year on Thursday, Dec. 27 and 7.7 percent year-over-year on Friday, Dec. 28.
And while there was a 20 percent year-over-year decline in U.S. online retail traffic on Sunday, Dec. 30, eCommerce traffic saw a boost every day compared to the previous year between Wednesday, Dec. 26 (0.2 percent) and Sunday, Dec. 30.
“eCommerce traffic to retail sites maintained a strong daily drumbeat throughout the week as shoppers have come to expect great deals after Christmas leading up to the New Year,” said Michele Dupre, group VP of retail, hospitality and distribution for Verizon Enterprise Solutions. “The northeast saw warm weather, which might have enticed more to trek out to physical stores. As retailers finish off a successful 2018 holiday season and focus on 2019, the goal will be to retain those holiday customers. Targeted offers, unique experiences, convenient shipping options and strong customer support in-store and online are expected year-round, so customers who had a great experience in December will want an even better one in June.”
PYMNTS’ own data showed that holiday eCommerce increased by 10.2 percent between 2017 and 2018. And it’s not surprising that eCommerce giant Amazon reported a record-breaking holiday season in 2018, with more items ordered globally than in previous years. In addition, Prime memberships grew during the holiday season, with tens of millions of people starting free trials or paying for memberships to gain free same-day, one-day or two-day shipping and free two-hour delivery with Prime Now. In fact, the company said millions of items in the U.S. were shipped with Prime free shipping promotions during the holidays. One report even noted that the company was responsible for 81 percent of holiday web sales this season.