E-Commerce

A record $7.40 billion was spent online by the end of Black Friday, the second largest online sales day ever (last year’s Cyber Monday reached $7.9 billion in sales),  according to Adobe Analytics. This $7.40 billion total represented a 43 percent year-over-year increase. What's more, the average order value set a new record for Black Friday (at…

In episode 224 of Total Retail Talks, Executive Editor Joe Keenan interviews Mike Ward, president and CEO of ThriftBooks, the world's largest seller of used books. Ward discusses the growth of secondhand stores and used products, and how ThriftBooks has capitalized on this market. He shares why ThriftBooks sells product on third-party sites such as…

Fewer people lined up outside stores as Black Friday shopping kicked off, suggesting early discounts offered by retail chains and a surge in online buying may have taken the shine off America’s biggest shopping day, according to CNBC. Spot checks on the ground showed there were fewer shoppers this year as retail chains started offering discounts…

According to Adobe Analytics data, Thanksgiving Day shopping hit new records for both large and small retailers. Consumers spent $4.2 billion, a 14.5 percent increase year-over-year, making this the first time Thanksgiving has surpassed $4 billion in sales. Leading online retailers saw a 244 percent boost in sales on Thanksgiving Day, while smaller retailers saw…

The digital transformation of the retail industry has changed consumer behavior drastically. Online shoppers expect an instantly gratifying and seamless experience. Anything that prevents them from completing a purchase will effectively leave them empty-handed with a bitter taste in their mouth — not only hurting loyalty, but also a retailer’s revenue. The test of a…

There’s a reason why the shopping season after Nov. 1 feels like the Super Bowl of retailing. According to industry data, almost half of all retailers’ sales occur between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31. The newest forecast from eMarketer predicts U.S. retail sales for the 2019 holiday season will climb 3.8 percent to $1.008 trillion, with…

Retail sales in October increased 0.2 percent seasonally adjusted over September and were up 4.2 percent unadjusted year-over-year, the National Retail Federation (NRF) said on Friday. The numbers exclude automobile dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants. October’s results make up for most of the 0.3 percent month-over-month decline seen in September and build on September’s year-over-year…

Holiday shopping season is here! In fact, holiday shopping launched in … July?!  According to our research at Bazaarvoice, almost 20 percent of consumers planned to start shopping midsummer during Amazon Prime Day and competing “Black Friday in July” sales. Luckily, 80 percent of us are stragglers and are still doing our shopping in the fall…

Without a doubt, e-commerce has permanently altered how people shop. Even those who still prefer to shop in-store frequently do preliminary research online by visiting retailers’ websites, comparing item specs, and reading customer reviews. While online shopping has made more products available to more consumers all over the world, it’s also introduced a host of…

Good Chemistry, a Target-exclusive brand and candle seller owned by parent company ILLUME, wanted to reach consumers directly and capture customer data they didn't have access to. To help build out its direct-to-consumer (D-to-C) business, Good Chemistry turned to e-commerce agency We Make Websites to launch its first site on Shopify Plus. In this exclusive interview with…