The Increase in Cyber Monday Sales and What That Means For You

The most important Black Friday & Cyber Monday statistics, and why you should care. 

A half off trip to Costa Rica, a computer screen, a Bluetooth shower speaker, pop sockets, kids PJs, and various Christmas presents were just a couple of things that our team purchased on Cyber Monday. As a team immersed in the digital world, you can bet at lunchtime on Cyber Monday we were all staring at our phones, trying to find the best deals out there. 

There’s a growing popularity in Cyber-Monday sales as year after year we’re shown news footage of crowded stores, long lines, and crazy fights. The ability to access these deals away from the stress is spiking an increase-- with $5.03 billion in Black Friday sales compared to $6.59 billion in Cyber Monday sales.

More and more, people are opting from spending their money in stores to online, and we are seeing increases every year. There was a $3.14B increase from 2016 to 2017 in Cyber Monday sales.

As more and more businesses take part in online sales, there’s more and more struggle on the backend of websites to maintain the traffic they’re seeing. Without the structure that’s able to uphold the higher traffic during the holiday rush, a lot of smaller businesses are going to be missing out due to poor website functionality. Factors like slow loading, poor mobile design, and non-responsive websites can lead consumers to leave a website and find what they want on another.

In 2017, 37% of Cyber Monday sales were done on a mobile device, meaning more and more people are using their smartphones and tablets to make their purchases.

So what does this mean for you?

The allure of the sales potential for many small businesses is very legitimate, but having a website to support it is crucial-- not only in regards to functionality, but also in design that it is easy to navigate and encourages sales. 

When creating an eCommerce website there are numerous things we take into account to make sure it’s a successful website:

-Design that encourages sales. Whether or not you are aware, great eCommerce websites are designed to nudge you to make a purchase, and that’s something our designers pursue when creating a website. 

-Smooth transition throughout check-out process. Abandoned carts are becoming a bigger and bigger problem due to numerous different reasons, and having a confusing or lethargic check out process is one of the main ones. By utilizing a process with as few clicks as possible and is easy for the consumer to step through, your customers will have a more positive experience, which can create more positive and longer lasting relationships. 

-Quick loading time. By having high quality, correctly coded images and content speeds up a website's loading time, which is crucial for customer satisfaction. This is another reason behind abandoned carts, and loading time can affect your Search Engine Optimization and Google rankings. 

-Responsive Design. As we noted earlier, 37% of Cyber Monday purchases were made on a mobile device, and having a website that is responsive is a part of this boost. Without that responsive design, potential customers can leave your website and find another.

-Easy to operate on the backend. Your main priority as a business owner isn’t to maintain and spend hours trying to update your website. Our FusionCMS and partnership with BigCommerce makes it easy for you to receive, process, and streamline orders. We find this easier operation is really important because your job is to run your business, not your website.

Is your eCommerce website ready to handle potential sales?

Jumping into the world of eCommerce is a scary one, but it has become a critical move for a lot of businesses. Let us help you make the transition; whether you’re new to eCommerce or already have a website you’re not happy with--let us use our 12 years of experience to help you. Fill out our contact form or call us at 206.384.4909!