Ecommerce traffic and sales rise this season as savvy consumers take holiday deal browsing and buying mobile

The Monetate Platform influenced more than a quarter of all U.S. ecommerce sales (or more than one in every four dollars spent online) during a historic Thanksgiving and Black Friday 2014. Data indicates increases in digital browsing and buying, and significant growth in mobile commerce.

Shoppers Move Online

Online spending reached historic levels as consumers moved online to both browse and buy this season. Online sales in the U.S. on Thanksgiving and Black Friday reached $1.01 billion and $1.5 billion respectively from desktop and laptop computers alone, according to Web analytics firm comScore.

Monetate’s data showed average order values (AOVs) started high and fell over the holiday weekend, from Thanksgiving ($179.59) to Black Friday ($163.49) through Saturday ($150.77) and Sunday ($136.20).

“Online sales on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday 2014 signaled a strong start to the holiday ecommerce season,” said Lucinda Duncalfe, CEO, Monetate. “And why wouldn’t shoppers be heading online? Retailers are offering more personalized, curated experiences online, as well as an earlier and extended online deal season. These factors are converging and helping consumers opt to stay with their families during the holiday rather than head to the stores.”

Mobile Commerce Skyrockets

Much of the ecommerce increase this season was bolstered by a dramatic and unprecedented performance from mobile devices. Overall mobile traffic skyrocketed to 44 percent of all online traffic on Thanksgiving and 42.5 percent on Black Friday – signaling greater sophistication among consumers in how they browse and comparison shop on mobile this holiday. Mobile sales also increased impressively this year, accounting for more than 28 percent of all online sales on Thanksgiving and nearly 27 percent of all online sales on Black Friday – up 16.6 percent and 13 percent respectively.

“The growth we are seeing indicates that shoppers are increasingly interested in shopping via mobile devices,” said Duncalfe. “Regardless of the device, when engaging customers on mobile or traditional online channels, it’s critical that retailers take advantage of all the data they have available to ensure each experience is relevant and personalized to the individual.”

As expected, online sales continued to grow faster on the backs of strong performances from both the traditional and mobile (smartphone and tablet) channels. The overall AOV on Thanksgiving was up 3.4 percent from last year and 2.8 percent on Black Friday. Despite the sizable boost in mobile traffic, traditional desktops and laptops proved the leader in AOV on both Thanksgiving ($185.65) and Black Friday ($169.80).