During the 2013 holiday shopping season, ecommerce platform provider ShopVisible published combined metrics of more than 70 online commerce sites from October 27 through the end of December 31. The results didn’t start out looking very strong (see Website Magazine’s post Dashing Thru the Depressing Retail Data), but it ended up being a rather merry holiday season for everyone involved.
For example, online retail order volume was up 15 percent versus 2012 during the holiday season. While the average order value was down slightly (down 1 percent), the average conversion rate was up 12 percent to an average of 4.8 percent.
ShopVisible’s Dashing Thru the Data revealed some rather imporatnt insights about the seasonal data it collected. For example, 37 percent of site traffic came from mobile devices or tablets during the holiday. The use of alternative payment methods such as PayPal and BillMeLater also warrants a mention as they rose with 24 percent of online payments coming from sources other than credit cards. ShopVisible even witnessed a boost in post-holiday shopping – a 34 percent overall increase in order volume in fact.
“Our Dashing Thru the Data dashboard served as a tool for retailers during holiday crunch time,” said Sean Cook, co-founder and CEO of ShopVisible. “When order volumes were down, retailers were able to adjust their offerings and promotions accordingly. The data reported from our eCommerce sites served as a valuable resource this holiday season, helping shape last-minute strategies for many of our clients.”
