The eCommerceer Podcast: Cyber Monday
In this episode we speak to Mark Coxhead, CEO and Co-Founder of TradeBridge, about the upcoming online retail event Cyber Monday, and how this year things may be a little different for the eCommerceer.
Christmas will
come early for
eCommerceer’s
Summer’s over, and the countdown begins for the biggest event in the retail calendar for eCommerceers and consumers alike.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are coming.
The American phenomenon that first hit the UK in 2010, Black Friday, has seen consumer spending increase year on year since, with approximately £7 billion being spent in 2020.
The Ghost of Christmas Future:
The upward trajectory of Black Friday is not only an increase in spend, it’s also an increase in duration, Cyber Monday grew from Black Friday as the digital extension of the original mass sale.
The early expectations were for this year’s Black Friday to evolve from the original long weekend, to a week-long, price cutting marathon, which would see the amalgamation of Black Friday and Cyber Monday into one sustained event.
However according to a recent survey, 66% of Black Friday shoppers said that they planned to do all their christmas shopping online. Will this holiday season, see an eCommerce ‘gold rush’?
The Ghost of Christmas Past:
The legacy of COVID-19 continues to have a huge impact on retail. Despite the prospect of the increase in demand that Christmas is expected to bring, the initial (and obvious) hurdle that retail has struggled to overcome is the cyclical waves of COVID-19 and now the Delta variant. All have made in-person shopping a less desirable option.
According to research from Emarsys, 46% of global retail marketers are considering cancelling their in-store Black Friday 2021 sales, due to ongoing uncertainties around COVID-19. Further, 81% are planning to actively encourage customers to shop online rather than in-store as a precaution.
The Ghost of Christmas Present:
The 2021 meltdown of global supply chains continues to punish the ailing retail sector. Even after the crisis at the Suez Canal in Q1 2021, there have been ever-present problems with global supply chains, resulting in increases in freight costs and massive delays.
During the 2021 holiday shipping season, delivery demand is expected to exceed capacity by 5 million pieces a day.
As far back as August 2021, sources suggested that most high street retailers would bypass the huge deals typical of Black Friday, due to global supply chain shortages, and in extreme cases, not participate at all.
Even traditional retailers have begun encouraging customers to conduct their Black Friday shopping online, instead of in-store as they would typically do on Cyber Monday.
An eCommerce Gold Rush?
There are numerous factors that could make this an incredibly profitable Christmas for the eCommerceer.
The exodus of demand to online, combined with the forecast that customers may be willing to increase spending, due to the previous global lockdowns all sound very positive.
The limiting factor of any potential gold rush is the ability for eCommerceers to not only select the hot products that will be in high demand, but to have them in plentiful stock.
TradeBridge CEO and Co-Founder Mark Coxhead commented:
“I see two major factors at work here. One is the issues within the supply chain, both in the production side and the transportation side, which are already leading to shortages of products in many categories.”
“In addition, after last year, for many people this Christmas will be one that they want to make extra special and when they read media reports of empty shelves, we know the kind of behaviour that will ensue from last year’s toilet-paper-gate.”
“Having the right Christmas present is important to many people and not only will we see a rush on hot products, but we think that rush will come very early and online retailers need to be prepared for that.”
Don't forget to subscribe and keep an eye out for our next episode, coming soon.
Also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts:
Don't forget to subscribe and keep an eye out for our next episode, coming soon.
We will be talking to TradeBridge's CEO and Co-Founder about whether the rise of eCommerce has finally ended the reign of high-street shopping?
If you have any questions or would like to get in touch, contact us at tradebridge.com/ecommerce
