Introduction
Bloomreach powers over 25% of US & UK eCommerce search and commerce experiences across 500+ global enterprise brands and businesses.
We’ve been continuously analyzing digital behavior across key industries to understand in real-time the impact current events have had on global eCommerce activity.
We believe it is important to process and share insights from our data to help businesses make adjustments where necessary.
Monthly Commerce Pulse Series
45 minute live sessions with Bloomreach’s Chief Strategy Officer, Brian Walker. Tune in for the latest in eCommerce trend data across regions and industry segments.
Sessions take place the first Thursday of every month.
[Next session]: February 4: Grocery Deep Dive + New Year Health Trends
Watch previous sessions on-demand
Traffic, Sales and Search Trends by Vertical
December 2020
Covid-19 continues to have a profound impact on global eCommerce results, but with different implications across geographies. In North America, Holiday sales were very strong (+40% YoY), but we saw a weakening in December as conversion rates fell. In the United Kingdom and European Union, Holiday & December sales saw modest growth (+9% YoY), impacted by consumers’ perceptions of the economy and political policies in Europe, leading to more saving and less spending.
Download Bloomreach’s Peak Holiday 2020 Report for a full breakdown of the year’s busiest shopping season.
North America
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North America saw modest YoY growth in sales, due in large part to a -12.7% YoY drop in conversion rate - likely because of issues with inventory availability, supply chain management, and logistics.
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Month-over-month percentages are mostly down, as most shoppers completed the bulk of their holiday purchasing in November.
UK & EU
- The UK + EU showed positive eCommerce results year-to-date (though not the same gains as the North American market) - a consistent trend of +10-14% in onlines sales throughout the year.
- Conservative gains could be due to a variety of factors, including consumer confidence. A recent study by McKinsey shows that 31% of UK respondents are pessimistic about Covid-19’s effects on the economy.
Grocery
- Grocery finished the year strong with +68% YoY growth, on par with the year-to-date trend.
- Average order size is down -15% YoY - a telltale sign that consumers are avoiding minimum order sizes by taking advantage of curbside pick-up.
The demand for online shopping is huge, tremendous, and we are doing the best that we can to fill what we can.
David McInerney, CEO, FreshDirect
Luxury
- Luxury, a segment which has consistently struggled this year, finally saw some positive YoY growth for the month of December (+20.84% in sales).
- A decrease of -3.77% YoY in average order size suggests shoppers gravitated towards bargain purchases.
Home Furnishings
- Home Furnishings remains one of the most popular categories, with YoY traffic peaking in December at +134%.
- The significant drop in conversion rate seen in December 2020 (-55% YoY) maintains a recent trend seen in Home Furnishings - a segment plagued by inventory shortages and supply chain limitations.
See how Hobbycraft saw a huge increase in new customers during lockdown.
Read the full story here
Search Terms
- Seasonal items dominate the December 2020 search terms, while Covid essentials still make an appearance.
- The Playstation 5 release shows prominently as the 2nd top-searched term.
- In 2020, more loungewear items (ie. pajamas, slippers, joggers) are displayed in top search terms, while in 2019 people prepared for outdoor adventures (ie. outerwear, jeans, boots).
Interested in the Data from Previous Weeks?
Watch recordings of our Monthly Commerce Pulse Series on-demand.
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Take a look at December 2020 in review [Infographic]
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