Eight of the holiday season's best ecommerce stats

Christmas is over, and to help ease you back into normal life, we’ve rounded up the period’s most illuminating ecommerce stats. How much did we spend online? Which times proved the most popular? Find out everything you need to know:

1. Online activity increased 

Big Data Labs reported a 21% increase in online activity compared to last year.

2. Peak online shopping times were in the evening

Peak times for online shopping were between 9-10 PM, as people had finished opening their presents, enjoyed their meal and had time to browse before bed.

3. Online Boxing Day sales decreased

Boxing Day sales were down by 3% – possibly due to the rise of Black Friday sales dominating the tail-end of November.

4. Boxing Day was all about in-store

Interestingly Springboard reported that there was a 11.7% increase in shopper numbers on Boxing Day; visits to shopping centres were up 7.8% and retail parks 3.2%.

5. Mobile dominated the Christmas period

Probably one of the most significant findings was the rise in mobile across the Christmas period. Big Data Labs saw several instances where mobile outpaced the desktop as the device of choice, and on Christmas Day mobile accounted for 42% of ecommerce transactions.

6. Sales in Black Friday week surpassed the weeks leading up to Christmas

Big Data Labs observed a 16% increase in online shopping compared to Black Friday last year and a staggering 270% compared to a normal day, suggesting that people prefer to shop from the comfort of their own home.

7. Sleep didn’t deter this year’s Black Friday shoppers

Big Data Labs recorded a record peak in online activity between midnight and 1am in the early
morning of Black Friday – levels previously unheard of for this time of day.

8. Black Friday mobile shoppers increased to 34%

 

Sources: Big Data Labs, Big Data Labs Black Friday Recap Report,