Introduction
With a global pandemic forcing the world into various states of lockdown all throughout the year, many industries who count on gathering and social interactions have suffered greatly. One of these industries, of course, is retail. The closure of physical stores throughout much of the year has caused a lot of confusion around how Black Friday weekend - the biggest sales weekend in ecommerce - would actually look like this year.
So, how are retailers faring knowing that:
- Many physical stores are closed this weekend due to continued restrictions.
- Stores that are open are seeing less traffic than usual.
- Online competition is greater than it has ever been before.
Here’s what the numbers are showing us:
increase in online store visits
increase in online store sales
decrease in online conversion rates
decrease in online average order value

Performance Breakdown By Device
We know that shopping behavior differs on each device - and over the last two years, Black Friday performance numbers have shown a favorable shift to the mobile experience. In fact, mobile shoppers are not only growing in numbers, but they’re also browsing more, ordering more and spending more. 2019 Nosto data showed a 6% increase (61% to 67%) in traffic share on mobile year over year vs a 3% decrease (31% to 28%) on desktop. Order share in 2019 stood at 54% on mobile vs. 41% on desktop, while mobile revenue share surpassed desktop in 2019 (52% to 42%).
As we head into a year where consumers are commuting less, how will this affect the on-the-go aspect of mobile shopping? Will desktop reclaim its place as the device of choice?
Conversion rate
- desktop, 5%
- mobile, 2%


Visits
- desktop, 35%
- mobile, 64%

Online sales
- desktop, 53%
- mobile, 47%

Orders
- desktop, 50%
- mobile, 50%
Unlock More Insights
Gain access to our BFCM rundown to dig into 2020 performance data by location, vertical, and more. Learn the ins and outs of how shoppers behaved onsite, take note of what worked and what didn’t, and optimize your own online shopping experience starting today to set yourself up for success next year.
Performance Breakdown By Geography
Black Friday is obviously a bigger deal in some countries than others, but holiday season sales tend to permeate across borders all across the globe in some way or another. What has online traffic, sales, conversion rates, and order values looked like in different locations so far this weekend? Are Europeans shopping less but converting better than Americans? Are Australians and Kiwis ordering more per purchase than the British?
North America
Black Friday was a busy day for North American ecommerce, with visits and sales up 14% and 9%, respectively. While shoppers proved to be actively engaging with brands online, average order value trended downward (an 11% decrease from the start of the shopping period). One possible reason for this decrease can be attributed to heavy holiday discounts - but overall, Black Friday 2020 showed that consumers in the US are still willing to shop their favorite holiday sales (with a great discount, of course. While these results were a positive indicator for the rest of the holiday shopping season, the focus on customer experience will need to be greater than ever if US brands want to drive more performane throughout the next few weeks.
increase in online store visits
increase in online store sales
increase in online conversion rates

decrease in online average order value
United Kingdom
The UK saw a tremendous turnout over Black Friday and the largest increase in performance compared to other regions - with visits up 35%, sales up 23% and conversion rate up 2% compared to 2019. Like North America, the UK saw a decrease in average order value (2%), which can be attributed to the heavier-than-usual discounts that typically draw consumers onsite on this day. Nevertheless, the upward trend is a promising sign of what's to come this holiday sales season - and it's essential for UK brands to continue offering shoppers the most memorable experiences to drive them to checkout and end the year strong.
increase in online store visits
increase in online store sales
increase in online conversion rates

decrease in online average order value
Europe
While Black Friday 2020 yielded an increase in visits (17%), sales (14%) and average order value (1%) for European ecommerce brands between 2019 and 2020, median conversion rate remained untouched (0%). Overall, visits and sales were relatively close to performance in North America; but one particular factor came into play this year that may have impacted overall percentages for this region.
Not represented in these percentages is performance in France, as the French government announced that they would delay Black Friday across the country until December 4th. The delay is due to a a nationwide rebellion by smaller businesses who have been impacted by the global pandemic.
Nevertheless, this data can be still be used to assess performance for all other countries in the region.
increase in online store visits
increase in online store sales
increase in online conversion rates
increase in online average order value

APAC
With online sales up 13%, visits up 10%, conversion rates up 6% and average order value up 7% between 2019 and 2020, Asia Pacific (APAC) was one of the few regions to see an upward trend in performance across the board. This is an impressive turnout considering Black Friday is not as huge of a holiday in this region as it is in others. For example, in Asia, Single's Day (November 11th) is one of the of the biggest days to shop discounted products and brands, while Black Friday remains less popular in Australia.
Nevertheless, the promising performance numbers indicate that consumers in this region are still willing to shop and can potentially signal a successful holiday sales season for APAC brands.
increase in online store visits
increase in online store sales
increase in online average order value
increase in online conversion rates

LATAM
While the volume of interactions captured for this region is small compared to other regions, Latin America (LATAM) is a growing market that is here to stay. With a growth forecasted to reach 31% by 2024, LATAM ecommerce has continued to flourish over the last few years.(1)
Despite the smaller pool of brands analyzed, visits showed an increase of 98% from start to end of the shopping period and sales increased by 1%. However, conversion rates saw a 36% and average order value saw a 16% decrease - and while this is not a full representation of performance in this market, those we did analyze possibly saw a decrease based on heavier discounts and/or a general hesitation to spend due to ongoing economic troubles as a result of the global pandemic.
(1) https://www.statista.com/topics/2453/e-commerce-in-latin-america/
increase in online store visits
increase in online store sales
decrease in online average order value
decrease in online conversion rates

Performance Breakdown By Vertical
Each retail vertical has experienced its own unique impact during the first 6 months of 2020. Verticals across the board saw an initial dip in traffic the first few weeks of March after shelter-in-place orders first began. After those first few weeks, traffic universally exploded across multiple verticals with Food & Drink seeing the largest increase and Animal & Pet Supplies seeing the second largest increase. Following that explosion in traffic, as the pandemic and its economic consequences continued on, most verticals saw traffic begin to tail off to different extents. Food & Drink and Sports & Hobbies both saw traffic level out between March and August, whereas Animal & Pet Supplies, Home & Garden, and Fashion & Accessories all ended that period with noticeably more traffic than at the beginning (15% or more increases).
Have these trends remained true during Black Friday? Or are we dealing with a completely different beast?
Fashion & Accessories
While Fashion & Accessories site visits were up 7% this year, this vertical saw a decrease in sales (4%), conversion rates (5%) and average order value (3%). A vertical that has outperformed most despite this year's abrupt shift in consumer behavior, Fashion & Accessories saw some of the lowest performance across verticals. Whether it's because consumers have spent most of the year shopping home-friendly fashion, they've set their sights on other more 'essential' products, or simply don't care to purchase clothing at a time when many people continue to spend more time at home, it remains to be seen how this vertical will perform during these last few weeks of the year.
increase in online store visits
decrease in online store sales
decrease in online average order value

Decrease in online conversion rates

Health & Beauty
Our research this year revealed that 44% of consumers have purchased more beauty and skincare products online vs. in-store over the last six months than they did before lockdowns began.(2)
Going into Black Friday, we anticipated an upward trend in this vertical - and the results delivered. By the end of the shopping day, visits were up 11%, sales were up 22% and conversion rates were up 2%, showing that consumers were still actively browsing and buying Beauty products online.
(2) https://www.nosto.com/resources/beauty-skincare-ecommerce-trends-2021/
increase in online store visits
increase in online store sales
increase in online average order value

increase in online conversion rates

Home & Garden
Earlier this year, Nosto data revealed that more than half (56%) of consumers felt it was important to focus on home improvement right now, with 53% of consumers expressing that they’ve started at least one home improvement since the start of lockdown.(3) Black Friday 2020 data revealed that consumers are still very much engaged with Home & Garden products, generating one of the highest increases in online visits (55%) and sales (52%) compared to other verticals. While average order value decreased by 5% throughout the day, this can be due to consumers taking advantage of Black Friday sales. Nevertheless, these impressive numbers prove that Home & Garden remains a top vertical of interest for shoppers as many of them continue to spend more time at home.
(3) https://www.nosto.com/resources/home-and-garden-consumer-report/
increase in online store visits
increase in online store sales
Increase in online conversion rates

Decrease in online average order value

Sporting Goods & Hobbies
Sporting Goods & Hobbies saw increases in performance across most KPIs - with visits going up 20%, sales going up 19% and average order value rising 2% throughout the shopping period. While conversion rate decreased by 1%, it’s evident that consumers are were interested in taking advantage of limited-time sales in this category. This is possibly due to the fact that people are turning to online workouts and wellness routines while spending more time at home.
increase in online store visits
increase in online store sales
increase in online average order value

Decrease in online conversion rates

Pet Supplies
While the volume of interactions captured for this vertical is small compared to others, the Pet Supplies brands we analyzed saw a positive increase in performance througought Black Friday. Online visits were up 58%, sales were up 60%, conversion rates were up 6% and average order value increased by 1% by the end of the shopping day. Pet Supplies is one of the few verticals that saw positive increases in KPIs across the board.
increase in online store visits
increase in online store sales
increase in online average order value

Increase in online conversion rates

Food & Beverage
The Food & Beverage vertical saw a 31% increase in visits and a 45% increase in sales - revealing that consumers were very much interested in taking advantage of limited-time sales in this category. Average order value and conversion rates trended downward throughout the day (4% and 3%, respectively), but the high number of sales makes this vertical one of the more successful ones during Black Friday.
increase in online store visits
increase in online store sales
decrease in online average order value

Decrease in online conversion rates

A Breakdown By Platform
Another way to splice the data is by analyzing performance across specific ecommerce platforms. How are Shopify merchants performing compared to Magento merchants? How does performance for merchants using the two compared to merchants using other platforms?
Shopify
Online visits and store sales across Shopify-powered brands saw an impressive increase over Black Friday (28% and 9%, respectively). However, conversion rates (down 7%) and average order value (down 3%) trended similar to what we saw across multiple regional and industry-level results.
increase in online store visits
increase in online store sales
decrease in online average order value
decrease in online conversion rates
Magento
Online visits and store sales across Magento-powered brands saw an impressive increase over Black Friday (29% and 17%, respectively). However, conversion rates (down 4%) and average order value (1%) trended similar to what we saw across multiple regional and industry-level results.
increase in online store visits
increase in online store sales
decrease in online average order value
Decrease in online conversion rates
Other
This section provides a high-level look at performance across various ecommerce platforms (excluding Magento and Shopify). Overall, visits were up 11%, sales were up 14% and conversion rates were up 3% on these platforms during Black Friday.
increase in online store visits
increase in online store sales
Increase in online conversion rates
Increase in online average order value
How Shoppers Are Behaving Onsite
Understanding the top-level performance metrics such as traffic, sales, and average order value is great, but what about the details that tell the fuller story?
Check out this breakdown of how shoppers are behaving onsite this BFCM weekend globally.
Increase in average number of pages viewed
Increase in average time spent on page
Decrease in bounce rate
TOP SITE SEARCHES: Gucci, Samsung TV, Socks
Increase in recommendations shown

most recommended product: ROSEMARY MINT HAIR OIL
Black Friday vs Cyber Monday
We know that Black Friday is not a one day affair, and shoppers who want to snag some extra deals virtually are also active to Cyber Monday. Over the last few years, our data has revealed that Black Friday drives more online sales, traffic, conversion and orders - but with the pandemic forcing people to shop more online in general, will this have any effect on Cyber Monday performance?
Here's a breakdown of how changes in performance for the two days compared against each other this year. Cyber Monday data is based on performance between November 30th-December 1st, 2020 and compared to the same time last year.
Conversion rate
- BF, -1%
- CM, 4%


Visits
- BF, 21%
- CM, 21%

Revenue
- BF, 14%
- CM, 25%

Orders
- BF, 18%
- CM, 29%
Could your business do with a boost beyond the holiday season?
Personalization could be the answer. Why not speak to one of our ecommerce specialists to find out more?