Based on new consumer insights and predictions, Salesforce [NYSE: CRM] has concluded that 2017 Black Friday will be the “busiest digital shopping day in U.S. history, exceeding Cyber Monday as the U.S. digital shopping day with the most sales for the second year in a row.”
This analysis is based on information such as activity of 500 million global shoppers across 53 countries, billions of transactions made possible by Commerce Cloud, millions of public social media conversations deciphered through Marketing Cloud and data extracted from Salesforce’s annual Connected Shoppers Report.
The top five Salesforce predictions and trends for the 2017 holiday shopping season are as follows:
* Holiday shopping stretches late into evenings and into the season.
* Mobile continues to eclipse desktop traffic.
* Consumers still use many digital channels to research products.
* Millennials expect more personalized experiences as AI matures.
* Retailers are struggling to meet shopper desires for a seamless and smart retail experience.
The last observation exemplifies the fact that shopping in general has morphed into an “appointment based activity” to an “on-demand activity.” Retailers can benefit from these tips by making “adjustments today in order to meet consumer expectations and better compete this holiday season.”
