As the SuperBowl of shopping comes to an end, one thing became very clear: brands need to be focused on an solution for their customers. In a year where everyone is talking about in-store experiences, Black Friday weekend was all about e-commerce. Yahoo reported that “online sales rose more than 23 percent, crossing $6 billion on Black Friday, according to data from Adobe Analytics. On Thanksgiving, it’s estimated sales grew 28 percent to $3.7 billion.” The growth continued through the weekend. CNBC reports that Cyber Monday hit a record $7.9 billion in sales, which is an increase of 19.3 percent from a year ago, according to data from Adobe Analytics. Holiday sales are at it’s peak, according to Business Insider, as Adobe Analytics is predicting sales to be the biggest in U.S. history.

Even more interesting is how people shopped online. Adobe reports that 33.5 percent of Black Friday sales and 27.7 percent of Cyber Monday Sales were made using smartphones. “Sales coming from smartphones hit an all-time high of $2 billion and we saw a significant spike in the buy online, pickup in-store trend,” John Copeland, head of marketing and customer insights at Adobe told ChainStoreAge.

Here are the biggest takeaways for retailers.

  • Your Black Friday selling strategy doesn’t have to be limited to just one day. Instead, it has become the kickoff to a four-day online shopping marathon
  • Having an omnichannel solution is vital to create a seamless shopping experience for the abundance of in-store and e-commerce consumers. Convenience-driven features like Buy Online, Pick Up in Store were the clear winners.
  • You need a mobile POS solution. Online shopping won because consumers don’t want to wait in long lines or face a stampede. Providing an easier, faster checkout is key.
  • Kohl’s mantra toward Amazon paid off: “If you can’t beat them, join them.” RetailDive reports that the department store sold 60 Instant Pots per second thanks to an online partnership.
  • Give back: Old Navy offered socks for $1 in store and for every pair purchased they donated $1 to the Boys and Girls Club.
  • Keep up your marketing efforts late in the night. According to ChainStoreAge, “the three hours between 10:00 p.m. and 1:00 a.m. ET on Cyber Monday were expected to drive $1.7 billion in online sales, roughly $300 million more than an average full day during the year.”
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