CyberWeek 2022 was predicted to be a fluctuating shopping season, but many retailers still met, or exceeded, last year’s numbers.
Overall, among the top categories on the Rakuten Advertising Network, the sales for home goods, luxury, jewelry and travel ranked the highest for this season.
Home goods was one of the strongest categories in Cyber Week 2022 with an increase from $1.6 billion to $2.5 billion this year. Luxury was also a top category with a huge jump from $2.3 billion to $3 billion this year.
Jewelry and travel were also popular products during Cyber Week 2022 with jewelry increasing from $1.9 billion to $2.2 billion and travel increasing from $1 million to $1.4 million
The Social Commerce Movement
The social commerce market has increased exponentially in recent years: the number of people who buy products through social media is rising, and so are their average purchase amounts.
According to a global survey by the IBM Institute for Business Value, 6 in 10 shoppers say they get “inspiration and ideas” from social media.
But it’s not just Gen Z and millennials. The IBM survey found that people of all generations—including Generation X and baby boomers—have embraced social media to research purchasing decisions.
TikTok had a significant impact on Black Friday shopping, with people posting hauls and wishlists on the app. The hashtag #blackfriday2022 had 247.5 million views (at time of writing), while #blackfridaydeals received 819.9 million views—a testament to how integral these platforms are becoming for brands when it comes to reaching customers?
What’s trending on TikTok reflects what the world wants to buy. From fashion to music to athletics, TikTok trends help users discover products for themselves and gifts for others.
Keyword Trends
Words that won: Here are most-searched keywords on Black Friday that also contained “Black Friday” in their queries
58% contained the names of well-known big-box retailers.
20% included “sale” or “deal.”
Most included terms or stores solely relating to: “apparel” (18%), “consumer electronics” (16%), and “home improvement” (16%).
On Black Friday: The most-searched categories were Home Storage & Organization (100% YoY), Kitchen and Bathroom cabinets (97% YoY), Rain Gear (93%YoY), Makeup and Cosmetics (74%).
Compared to Black Friday: Rain Gear (100%), Office Supplies (81%), Make-up and Cosmetics (74%) and Home Storage & Organization products(68%) spiked the highest.
Cyber Weekend saw an increase in demand for utility apparel, with rain gear topping the list of most popular purchases.
The beauty industry also seems to be growing on Amazon:
The YoY rise in many other categories indicates that more people are turning to search engines as a way of finding and buying stuff—creating new opportunities for sellers if they take advantage of this channel.
Buy Now Pay Later
With concerns around high inflation and recession fears in the U.S., consumers embraced the flexibility of Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) methods during November 19-25, as BNPL revenue spiked 81% and orders made using BNPL jumped 78%.
BNPL is a form of layaway that allows consumers to make interest-free payments on their purchases over a set time period. By 2021, the BNPL market had an annual revenue of $87.2 billion—a number that’s projected to jump by more than 900 percent in the next decade alone.
This goes to show that consumers have been under heavy financial strain and view Buy Now, Pay Later services as a way to stretch their budget to get the gifts they are looking for this holiday season.
Millennials and Gen Z consumers are increasingly turning to Buy Now, Pay Later as an alternative to credit cards or personal loans. According to a new report from LendingClub, 42% of these shoppers plan on financing purchases this holiday season.
While Buy Now, Pay Later has traditionally been used to finance large purchases such as cars and computers, some consumers have reported using the service for low-cost items like groceries or household appliances. During the week of Cyber Monday, the amount Americans spent on online Buy Now Pay Later transactions decreased by 5%, indicating that people were financing cheaper items.
Multi-Channel Madness
Marketers use multiple channels to spread their marketing messages. Using several media—like email, social media and display ads—increases the number of touchpoints between marketers and consumers for a more comprehensive campaign.
In fact, statistics released in 2022 showed that 54% of buyers used at least five channels to search for presents over a typical two-day period. But it’s not just about finding what’s popular—it’s also important to know what people are buying right now. Additionally, new 2022 data shows that 85% of consumers are willing to shop at multiple stores for the best deals and 86% will try new products entirely because of coupons.
Retailers can reach different buyer demographics on their preferred platforms, increasing the opportunity to attract new holiday business.
Walmart Black Friday deals grab the top spot for searches
In line with other brick-and-mortar stores across the country, Walmart saw a decrease in physical foot traffic on Black Friday. However, it is likely that their customers went to their website instead of shopping at one of its locations.
According to Captify, searches for Black Friday deals on Walmart increased by 386% compared to last year. This was more than Target (250%), Kohl’s (126%) or Amazon (99%).
Walmart has continued to expand its capabilities, offering more opportunities for brands. The retailer’s ad business (Walmart Connect) grew 40% YoY in Q3 while ecommerce grew 16% YoY during the same period.
Walmart’s investment in its ad platform has put the retailer in a strong position to claim more of this year’s holiday sales.
If you’re looking to diversify your spend in 2023, Walmart brings some big advantages: its stores attract 150 million customers each week.
Walmart’s partnership with The Trade Desk allows advertisers to scale their campaigns and reach a broader audience.
Despite higher costs, inflation woes, supply chain strain, and other concerns, consumers spent more during Cyber Week 2022 than any other Cyber Week. Ecommerce predictions have been hard to make since the onset of the pandemic in 2020, and this year’s holiday season is no exception.
