In 2017, Black Friday and Cyber Monday was the most profitable holiday seasons ever. In 2018, Criteo expects to see more of the same. So, based on an analysis of how people shopped in 2017, and what to look forward to in 2018, here’s what we expect to happen in 2018ز

• In 2017, there was an uplift in holiday sales affected by the Cyber week which included days like Thanksgiving (+25% YoY), Black Friday (+13% YoY) and Cyber Monday (+13% YoY). So this year, shoppers are expected to start their browsing, looking for deals and buying all month long – and maybe earlier.
• Mobile shopping will top the scene this year and mobile becomes the go-to purchase channel, with more than 40% of all online retail sales in November and December happened on mobile devices in 2017.
• In the US, the 2017 Cyber Monday and even the Tuesday after proved to be as big an opportunity as Black Friday but it doesn’t mean to pour all your spend into Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Holiday Shopping Around the World – An Overview

• In Australia, Click Frenzy (November 14) saw +139% in sales vs. +99% for Black Friday, with 44% of online retail sales for Click Frenzy, and 42% for Black Friday have made on mobile devices.
• In Brazil, shoppers saw +327% over an average sales day in October, while purchases saw an increase of 882%.
• This is followed by the UK which showed +233% shoppers increase vs. the average day in October and +271% in purchases.

A Figure Shows the Cyber Week Effect on YoY Sales Change (2016 vs. 2017)

Methodology:

Data is based on an analysis of individuals’ browsing and purchasing data from over 5,000 retailers, in more than 80 countries, Q4 2017.