Today in Retail: Black Friday Shoppers Flock to Amazon; Online Shopping Critical for COVID-Weary Retailers

In today’s top retail news, Cyber Monday deals are few and far between as retailers spread their holiday promotions across several weeks, while PYMNTS data show that over two-thirds of Black Friday shoppers made online purchases at Amazon. Also, a new coronavirus variant is the latest example of why eCommerce is crucial for merchants, and shopper network startup Bolt is acquiring embedded commerce platform Tipser.

Cyber Monday Shoppers Find Fewer Online Deals

U.S. retailers are bracing for a slower sales pace on Cyber Monday, in large part because shoppers are finding fewer and smaller discounts and limited selections because of continuing global supply chain snags. Many retailers spread their holiday shopping promotions across several weeks rather than saving them all for a single day.

Black Friday Results Put Pressure on Walmart to Keep up With Amazon

Though online Black Friday shopping was down slightly compared to last year, more shoppers still looked online for deals than in-store, with over two-thirds visiting Amazon, putting more pressure on rival Walmart in the coming weeks. According to PYMNTS’ data, nearly 71% of Black Friday shoppers made their online purchases at Amazon, while over 41% made digital purchases through Walmart and 28% did so through Target.

As Rolling COVID Disaster Turns to Omicron, Online Shopping Never More Important for Retailers

Having toiled through the trials and tribulations brought on by COVID-19 over the past two years, there has been one constant for beleaguered retailers: the importance of having a robust eCommerce operation. According to a PYMNTS survey of over 2,000 U.S. consumers, 65% of Black Friday shoppers made online purchases, compared to 74% a year ago. That’s nearly 10 percentage points higher than the 58% who said they did their buying in-store.

Bolt Acquires Tipser to Drive Rollout of Remote Checkout

Shopper network startup Bolt closed a deal to acquire embedded commerce platform Tipser for undisclosed terms, a move that the companies say will drive their shared goal of facilitating immediate checkout at the point of discovery. Bolt will build on Tipser’s technology and take advantage of its merchant integrations and headless implementation capabilities to enhance its own Remote Checkout solution.