Edge by Ascential, a leading provider of accurate and actionable ecommerce data, insights and advisory solution for global brands and retailers, has published the latest figures obtained from Amazon.com about the 2018 Holiday Shopping Season sales., According to report, the top-selling categories during the Black Friday/Cyber Monday Weekend, are toys, home furniture, digital cameras and floor care. Strategic timing has played a major part in the success for some brands. In 2018, seasonal promotions for home furnishing began well before Black Friday, beginning in October and early November. This pre-Black Friday promotion is a smart move on the part of furniture manufacturers, since consumers traditionally associate Cyber 5 with electronics and toys to prevent their products from getting buried below the avalanche of tech and toy promotions, furniture brands gave themselves a boost in sales and search rank ahead of time.
Some of last year’s top performing items have proven to be popular gift choices again this year. “The real value of the Cyber 5 weekend is not its proven ability to break records year after year but its role as a launching pad for the holiday shopping season,” explains Danny Silverman, CMO at Edge by Ascential. “Amazon’s primary goal isn’t to break records on Cyber Monday, it’s to keep that high traffic going after Cyber Monday and maintain it through the rest of the holiday season.”
Each individual toy category sales grew by at least 30 per cent during Black Friday week compared to the pre-promo weekly average and grew again by 50 per cent during Cyber Monday week. The Toys product group brought in more than twice as much in sales as the next largest product group (Home Furniture) during the Black Friday/Cyber Monday period.
“In the digital marketplace, a strong start should always be a brand’s first priority. An above-average performance causes a product to attract more traffic and sales, while a below-average performance can cause a product to quickly disappear under a pile of competitors,” adds Silverman. “This is especially true during the critical holiday shopping season. A product that stands out on Black Friday is very likely to be under the nation’s trees on Christmas morning, while a product that has a weak Cyber 5 weekend.
