In this Cloud Wars Horizon Minute, episode 75, Tom Smith puts into context some early data indicating that the online holiday shopping season is off to a solid start. He also reviews core automation technology that is helping retailers keep things running smoothly and cost-effectively.
Highlights
00:15 — Some early data on Cyber Week is showing the e-commerce market to be strong
00:25 — 2022 global online sales in Cyber Week hit an all-time high of $281 billion, up 2% compared to 2021, and $68 billion in the U.S., up 9% compared to 2021. The source for that data is Salesforce’s 2022 Cyber Week report, which rolls up data from 1.5 billion shoppers and includes 24 of the top 30 U.S. online retailers.
001:03 — Automation via chatbots is giving time back to retailers and consumers — and giving money back to retailers: Chatbot messages globally increased 57% on Black Friday and 53% on Cyber Monday compared to the same days in 2021. That continues the trend of enterprises across industries making increased use of automation as they struggle to fill, or find funding for, open positions.
01:41 — Social media referrals hit an all-time high, with 76% of Cyber Week e-commerce traffic coming through mobile devices, with social media referring nearly 10% of that traffic — and that’s a 22% increase year-over-year
02:28 — Adoption of “Buy Online and Pick Up In Store” (BOPIS) is increasing: Cyber Week usage of this feature grew 9% globally Thursday through Sunday, compared to the first three weeks of November.
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