This blog post is part of Forrester’s Holiday 2019 retail series.

For several years, market research firm Bizrate Insights has surveyed US shoppers during Cyber Week. We looked back at the Bizrate data from five years ago and found several interesting changes in consumer behavior:

  • The percentage of shoppers belonging to a shipping club is increasing. In 2014, 28% of US online shoppers said they belonged to a program like Prime or ShopRunner. In 2019, that figure is 60%. This data suggests that Amazon will have another banner holiday season.
  • Mobile shopping is way up. This isn’t really new news, but it’s always interesting to see the magnitude of the shift. In 2014, 40% of US online shoppers said they shopped on mobile devices during Cyber Week. In 2019, that figure is 67%. Cyber Monday was also a big mobile winner: In 2014, 24% of these shoppers shopped on mobile devices; this year, that figure was 46%. This usually correlates with significant spikes in mobile traffic and mobile browsing.
  • Buying on mobile devices is popular during sales. “Shopping” is a loose term that covers browsing and researching, both inside and outside stores. In 2014, 75% of mobile consumers purchased on mobile devices during Cyber Week. By 2019, purchasing continues to be the top mobile activity (done by 78% of those who shopped with mobile devices). More mobile-optimized sites, easier mobile payments, and copious flash sales have helped drive more mobile transactions even as mobile commerce otherwise is relatively stable. Mobile shopping, however, isn’t always cause for holiday cheer, because transactions on mobile devices tend to be smaller.

Please visit our holiday blog series for more insights.