Press Releases

Black Friday Online Spending Rebounds Reports Coremetrics

– Savvier Shoppers, Online Promotions Combine to Create Comeback –

SAN MATEO, Calif., November 28, 2009 – The U.S. online retail sector delivered a strong comeback on Black Friday 2009 compared to the same period last year, according to Coremetrics, the leader in marketing optimization. This analysis, delivered as part of Coremetrics’ second annual Black Friday Benchmark Report, reveals the following trends and patterns as of 12:00 a.m. PST:

  • The average dollar value that consumers spent per online order rose 35.0 percent year over year, led by apparel retailers.
  • Consumers are buying more items per order than they did last year—by 18.3 percent.
  • Consumers are spending considerably less time browsing retailers’ sites, suggesting they had done their research prior to Black Friday and that they are shopping from lists.
    • Browsing sessions were down by 5.4 percent
    • The number of people who left a site after viewing only one page (also known as a “bounce” rate) was up by 39.4 percent
    • Page views per session declined by 30.4 percent

“The healthy jump in the average amount of money people are willing to spend online this year suggests consumers have adjusted their shopping patterns to the reality of the economic downturn. They’re thriftier, they’re savvier and every one of them wants to be the best bargain hunter out there,” said John Squire, chief strategy officer, Coremetrics. “Secondly, there are fewer online retailers this year than last year. Those who survived the first several months of the downturn are pulling out all the stops to lure shoppers with aggressive incentives. The net effect is a jump in the amount the average person spends online and in the number of things they’re willing to purchase per order.”

Retail Summary:

  Black Fri 2009   Black Fri 2008   %
Change		   Analysis  
 

Average Order Value

The average value of each order		 $170.19   $126.04   35.02%   The healthy jump in the average dollars consumers spent per online order suggests that retailers’ promotions are proving effective in attracting consumers.  
                   
 

Items per Order

The average number of items purchased per order		 5.40   4.56   18.33%   This 18.33% jump shows that consumers are not only spending more per order, they’re actually buying more items.  
                   
 

Bounce (One Page) Rate

The percentage of sessions in which visitors only viewed one page before leaving the site 		30.86%   22.13%   39.43%   The rise in the number of sessions in which consumers left a site after looking at only one page suggests a laser focus on buying a particular item.  
                   
 

Browsing Sessions Percent

The percentage of sessions in which visitors viewed at least one product page		 48.99%   51.80%   -5.42%   This decrease in browsing behavior suggests that consumers are doing much less window shopping (but more actual buying) than last season.  
                   
 

Order Session Percent

The percentage of sessions in which visitors completed an order		 4.5%   3.49%   29.07%   This nice jump again shows that retailers are successfully enticing more consumers to complete a purchase when compared to Black Friday 2008.  
                   

Retail Categories:

  • Apparel retailers and jewelry retailers reported the biggest jumps in the average dollar amount consumers spent per online order, up 28.6 percent and nearly 25 percent respectively.
  • Department stores did a phenomenal job of attracting new consumers to their sites, reporting a 151.7 percent jump. However, the average dollar amount consumers spent per online order actually decreased by 7.2 percent, suggesting that shoppers may be sitting on the sidelines waiting for more discounts and special offers.
  • Sports gear and apparel retailers also reported a rise of 54.6 percent in the number of new consumers visiting their sites and a 61.3 percent jump in the number of sessions in which consumers completed an order. But the average dollar amount consumers spent per online order declined slightly by 3.1 percent.

Source
These findings are based on data from Coremetrics Benchmark™, the industry’s only peer-level benchmarking solution that measures online marketing results, including commerce data, against those of the competition. More than 500 leading U.S. retailers, contribute their analytics data to Benchmark. All data is aggregated and anonymized. Abercrombie & Fitch, Bath & Body Works, Bloomingdale’s, Coldwater Creek, L’Occitane en Provence, Macy’s, Nordstrom, Office Depot, PETCO and Williams-Sonoma are just a few of the participating companies.

Coremetrics recently enhanced Benchmark to include near-real-time data and added advanced functionality, such as sales trends by comparison period, conversion rates from Pay per Click (PPC) campaigns, and website traffic by browser type. Over the last year, Coremetrics has nearly doubled the number of companies participating in Benchmark.

Coremetrics Benchmark comes standard with Coremetrics Analytics for no
additional cost.

Attachments
1. Complete Coremetrics Black Friday Benchmark Report (pdf)
2. Press FAQ

About Coremetrics
Coremetrics is the leader in marketing optimization. Its products help businesses relentlessly optimize their marketing programs to make the best offer, every time, anywhere, automatically. More than 2,000 online brands globally, transacting more than $20 billion this year, use Coremetrics’ Software as a Service (SaaS) to optimize their online marketing. Coremetrics’ solutions encompass advanced online analytics and integrated marketing optimization applications, including search engine bid management, email targeting, ad impression attribution and cross sell recommendations to acquire customers more cost effectively, increase conversion rates, and increase lifetime customer value. Coremetrics is consistently recognized by industry analysts and thought leaders, and in 2008 was named to Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 Program for Silicon Valley Internet, Media, Entertainment and Communications companies. The company is privately held with funding from Accel Partners, FTV Capital, Highland Capital Partners, and W Capital Partners, and is headquartered in San Mateo, California.

To learn more about Coremetrics, visit http://www.coremetrics.com or call
866-493-2673.

Coremetrics has strongly supported online privacy since its inception. To learn more, visit www.coremetrics.com/privacy.

Media Contacts:
Michela Stribling
Director, Corporate Communications, Coremetrics
Tel: (650) 762-1433
Email: mstribling@coremetrics.com

Shelley Risk
Horn Group for Coremetrics
Tel: (415) 905-4037
Email: srisk@horngroup.com

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