We’re back with our annual report on ecommerce holiday shopping statistics, and this time they are a doozy.
If you’ve kept up with our past entries, then you already know we’ve provided in-depth coverage on 2021’s Black Friday rush, our annual Cyber Monday Statistics and Predictions for 2020, and everything you needed to know about Cyber Monday and Black Friday. Now it’s time to move on ahead with this year’s annual Turkey Day outlook.
We’re back with some hot-off-the-presses Thanksgiving ecommerce statistics for 2022 that you won’t find anywhere else. So let’s dig in!
Q4 Online Shopping Outlook
Consumers are digging deep into their pockets this year, even amid tackling inflation, a spike in fuel costs and supply chain issues that are affecting commerce on a global scale. Think tanks are predicting that there will be a 7% increase in spending this year for Q4, representing a nearly $500 billion windfall.
Over the holiday season, Adobe is predicting that consumers will spend at least $209 billion on various online goods and services. This influx in spending has already begun, with retailers advertising steep discounts and special sales to lure shoppers in, including retail giant Amazon with its annual Prime Day.
Most Popular Shopping Categories
Per reports by Adobe and other major think tanks, the holiday rush will focus primarily on the three most popular categories: apparel, groceries and electronics. These three will combine to produce at least $100+ billion in spending overall this year, or about half of all holiday spending.
- Electronics will drive at least $50 billion in sales, representing an increase of nearly 3% year over year.
- Apparel will generate nearly $41 billion in sales, representing a year over year decrease of almost 7%.
- Groceries will fetch around $14 billion, an increase of more than 10% year over year, as consumers come together and get around the table to break bread again post pandemic.
Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) Will Be a Mainstay
The Buy Now Pay Later (BPNL) phenomenon is here to stay, namely because consumers love it. As of last year, BNPL drove significant consumer engagement across the board, with a revenue share that exceeded 30% in 2021. From the start of this year to the present, BNPL has steadily grown by more than 5%.
Over the Cyber Monday and Black Friday holiday shop-a-thons, expect more than 8% of consumers to use a BNPL option at checkout, with more than 50% of consumers considering using it at the time of checkout. Retailers that offer this service at time of checkout have a 61% increased chance of the consumer using it than those that force shoppers to use a third-party service.
Inflation Will Play A Role
Inflation is unavoidable, and this year’s numbers show that the average cost of goods is going up by at least 10% across the board. This means that consumers are spending more but getting less, and the belt-tightening we’re seeing here will cross over to the holiday spending spree.
Per our annual report on 2022 Ecommerce Cross-Channel Statistics, inflation has resulted in the following:
➡️ 77% of consumers say they’ve adjusted their spending due to inflation.
➡️ 72% are avoiding impulse purchases and are spending less overall.
➡️ 59% are looking for less expensive, knockoff brands.
➡️ 52% are only shopping for discounts or flash sale products.
➡️ 51% are only buying generic products altogether.
➡️ 42% are reducing dependency on certain products and are not buying them.
➡️ 38% report decreased spending overall.
Mobile Commerce Will Take Center Stage
This holiday season, more than 55% of consumers will shop and buy from a mobile device. To add to the pot further, at least 35% of all consumer to business sales online will emanate from a smartphone or a tablet, representing a monumental shift in the way that consumers shop for and purchase goods online, inclusive of webrooming and showrooming along the way to the BUY button.
➡️ 31% increase in Black Friday sales from mobile year-over-year.
➡️ 33% increase in mobile payments by 2022 for an estimated $3.38b+.
➡️ 32% increase in digital wallet usage from mobile by 2022.
All said and done, mobile commerce will rake in more than $450 billion dollars. Get the full report in our related guide: 50 Facts About Mobile Commerce for 2022.
Social Networks Will Pave the Way
Social media is the next big thing in online shopping, primarily in the apparel, electronics, fitness, supplements and services categories. As such, expect social commerce to play a large role in shaping the way that consumers shop for and buy goods for the holidays this year and well into the future.
➡️ 25% of consumers look to social networks for advice when they go clothing shopping.
➡️ Smartwatches, video doorbells, facial masks, and phone cases are some of the top-selling products on social media.
➡️ For 2022, social commerce is expected to surpass more than $25 billion in total sales.
Thanksgiving Ecommerce Statistic for 2022
Now onto the meat potatoes, here are all the thanksgiving ecommerce statistics for 2022 that you’ll want to know as we enter into what is shaping up to be the biggest record-setting windfall in ecommerce’s short 25-year history.
➡️ Cyber Monday will see 2 million additional shoppers this year (Drip).
➡️ Holiday sales will increase by as much as 6% this year (Reuters).
➡️ Black Friday will generate at least $10 billion in sales (Insider Intelligence).
➡️ The holiday season will provide a $230 billion haul for online retailers (ROI).
➡️ 85% of consumers plan on shopping online for the holidays in 2022 (Drip).
➡️ U.S. retailers, as a whole, will rake in more than $1.2 trillion (Bidtellect).
➡️ Average holiday spending will exceed $1,350 per person (Money Transfer).
➡️ Holiday purchases will start two weeks earlier (Practical Commerce).
➡️ 47% of consumers want free shipping on holiday purchases this year (Drip).
➡️ Average holiday purchase will exceed $150 (Statista).
➡️ More than 60% of shoppers will use multiple retailers (Google).
➡️ Gen X will spend the most of any shopper demographic (Cloudway).
➡️ December 26th will be the 4th busiest shopping day of the year (Wordstream).
➡️ More than $12 million per minute will be spent during the Cyber Monday and Black Friday four-day span (Drip).
➡️ 76% of shoppers will exclusively shop online this year (Autogrow).
➡️ 31% of shoppers will only research products online (Google).
Wrapping it All up
It’s an exciting time for the ecommerce industry as a whole. As consumer spending habits improve and the issues of the previous two years begin to fade, things are picking up pace again and are back on track for what’s shaping up to be yet another record-setting year. Scroll down to see a new infographic we’ve created that outlines the most pertinent cross-channel ecommerce statistics for 2022. Feel free to borrow and share it as you like!
If you want even more tips, take a read of our related guide: 60 Statistics on Ecommerce for 2022 That You Need to Know.
