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Early indications show that despite all the economic headwinds, retailers in Canada could be experiencing a good holiday shopping season this year.<\/p>\n
Data by Salesforce, in its annual Cyber Week Recap Report, said Black Friday sales were up two per cent from a year ago; retail sales grew by 11 per cent year-over-year on the Saturday and the Sunday; Cyber Monday sales grew by four per cent; and Cyber Week showed a five per cent hike.<\/p>\n
Canadian retailers experienced the biggest surge Saturday and Sunday. While Cyber Monday sales grew overall four per cent year over year, as of 4 p.m. EST sales were still only showing one per cent growth indicating last-minute shopping into the evening hours.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe data highlights money-conscious consumers playing a game of \u2018discount chicken\u2019, as they patiently waited for the best deals of the week. Canadian shopper behaviour shows us Cyber Week isn\u2019t about a single day of door crashers, but a season of deals that consumers are constantly monitoring from the palm of their hand,\u201d said Salesforce.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs Black Friday and Cyber Monday battle it out for the largest online shopping day, one thing is for sure, consumer spending remains resilient as they diligently search for \u2013 and buy \u2013 attractive deals,\u201d said Rob Garf, VP and GM of Retail for Salesforce.<\/p>\n
\u201cBlack Friday online sales performance exceeded any retail executive\u2019s expectations. Retailers stepped up their discounting game and shoppers, in turn, clicked the buy button.<\/p>\n
\u201cConsumers who have been playing discount chicken should consider clicking the buy button now as retailers have decreased inventory levels to preserve capital and increase margins.\u201d<\/p>\n Caila Schwartz, Director of Consumer Insights and Strategy for Retail and Consumer Goods for Salesforce, said there was a really strong Black Friday worldwide which was surprising considering some of the economic challenges today.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had really strong global growth. We had really strong growth in the U.S. Europe was actually driving a lot of the global growth and we also had really strong demand in Canada which has been seeing declines, especially throughout the year,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Schwartz said the double-digit year over year growth on the Saturday and Sunday is something we haven\u2019t seen in a really long time.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat was even more interesting about that data is that it was being driven by meaningful demand. So it wasn\u2019t just because prices were higher. We actually saw order volumes increasing and what was happening was that discount rates were significantly higher than they were earlier in the week and they were also significantly higher than they were at the same time last year,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat that meant was that consumers, especially in Canada, were actually getting lower prices than they were at the same time last year . . . This is what was really driving that demand. Consumers knew they weren\u2019t getting good deals, they were seeing higher prices but when we got to the weekend and discount rates surged that\u2019s when consumers in Canada started to buy. We saw that in Canada, we saw that in Europe and the U.S. In Canada what was actually interesting is that consumers were getting lower prices.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s all about price sensitivity. Consumers have been handling higher prices for the last two years and I think discounting has been really soft. Prices are high. They\u2019re not getting great deals. We saw a flurry of promotional activity in October and early November. The reality is that the discounts were not that great even though there was a lot of branding around early Cyber Week. Consumers didn\u2019t actually get meaningfully significant discounts. What\u2019s interesting about the shopper worldwide is that whether or not they\u2019re keeping track of discounts they know whether or not a deal is a good deal. So on aggregate even though there was a lot of promotional activity the deals weren\u2019t great and consumers knew that. So they weren\u2019t buying. They were waiting for the deals and the deals came starting on Black Friday and continuing throughout the weekend and that\u2019s when consumers bought.\u201d<\/p>\n Going forward, Schwartz said anything can happen. But her feeling is that discount rates might start to creep back up getting closer to the mid holiday season for shipping.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter the shipping cutoff I think we\u2019re going to see retailers really pushing consumers to buy online and pick up in store and I think they\u2019re probably going to offer incentives around that,\u201d she said. \u201cI think that\u2019s how we\u2019ll see the rest of the season shape up.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, over the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend, millions of Square and Afterpay sellers across the world set a record with 70 million transactions, up 14 per cent from last year.<\/p>\n Consumers continued to display diverse shopping habits as in-person shopping increased 15 per cent, while online cart sizes were 3.9 times higher than in-person, reinforcing the need for sellers to optimize their omnichannel strategy for the remainder of the holiday season. Also, nine per cent more businesses leveraged the power of omnichannel by attracting buyers both in-person and online.<\/p>\n Black Friday and Cyber Monday Metrics in Canada from Square and Afterpay:<\/p>\n \u201cDuring the Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping weekend, consumers turned out in droves to support their favorite businesses,\u201d said Saumil Mehta, Head of Point of Sale and Omnichannel at Square. \u201cWe found that the holidays aren\u2019t just for traditional retailers, as businesses across industries like restaurants and beauty lean into the major weekend. Given consumer sentiment has been positive around the holidays, and we know this weekend is often just the beginning, businesses should continue to expect an influx of shoppers, and be ready to meet them wherever they prefer to shop.\u201d<\/p>\n Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) transactions through Afterpay increased 29 per cent in Canada, and Square sellers saw their Afterpay transactions grow 10 per cent. The fastest growing Afterpay item categories outside of fashion and beauty were home and department stores as consumers used BNPL for more choice and flexibility at checkout during the holidays.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/retailinsider.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/IMG_3761-1200x900.jpeg\")
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