Global Online Performance
Global Online Performance
Shoppers played coy at the end of the third quarter: They continued to browse websites for inspiration but sales were down as consumers held out for Cyber Week discounts.
Digital Commerce Growth
Digital Commerce Growth
The quarter’s online sales were essentially flat, although European shoppers continued buying, pushing Europe’s online sales up 9%. Consumers shopped less frequently but purchased more per transaction, although the increase in sales is likely due to higher prices.
The year-over-year (YoY) change in revenue on a per-period basis. For instance, Q1 2020 over Q1 2019.
Marketing Performance
Marketing Performance
Email is losing ground, while the share of push, SMS, and over-the-top (OTT) messaging continues to grow. Those messaging methods now represent 14% of all messages sent — marking a 17% increase year over year.
Order and Traffic Growth by Device
Order and Traffic Growth by Device
Overall traffic grew 3% in the third quarter, led by mobile, which was up 7%. Although order volumes declined 5% in the quarter, the share of orders coming from mobile devices continues to grow — now at 65%.
Order growth by device: the change in the number of orders placed from each device.
Traffic growth by device: the change in the number of visits from each device.
Search Usage
Search Usage
As shoppers continue to be more deliberate about exactly what they want, site search usage grew 6% in the third quarter, accounting for 16% of all orders globally.
Device Trends
Device Trends
Mobile remains the biggest traffic driver and preferred channel for placing orders, with shares of 76% and 65% respectively.
Order share: the share of orders placed on each device.
Traffic share: the share of visits on each device.
Due to rounding, values may not sum to 100%.
Conversion Rate
Conversion Rate
Overall, consumers researched more and bought less in the third quarter, which had a negative impact on conversion rates. The global conversion rate was 1.9% for the quarter, representing a 10% decline year over year. But we think conversion rates will improve in the fourth quarter as retailers deliver discounts and consumers open their wallets.
Shopper Spend
Shopper Spend
Shopper spend, which represents the average amount that each shopper spends per visit, was down 2%. Spending will pick up as discount rates increase later in the holiday season. In turn, we expect 25% of all holiday digital sales to take place during Cyber Week.
The per-visit average amount spent by shoppers.
Average Order Value (AOV) and Discount Rate
Average Order Value (AOV) and Discount Rate
The average discount rate in the third quarter was 38% lower than what we predict for Cyber Week this year. Despite healthy bumps in July and August, global online sales fell 3% in September, indicating consumers are waiting patiently for more attractive holiday discounts. Average order value and average selling price both increased by 6% in the quarter.
AOV: the order amount spent by the shopper.
Discount rate: the share of an order amount that was reduced due to merchandise or other discounts.
This value does not include product markdowns or reductions in shipping costs.
Cart Abandonment Rate
Cart Abandonment Rate
The global cart abandonment rate remained steady year over year. Desktop continues to lead when it comes to actually clicking the buy button, with a 76% cart abandonment rate versus 85% on mobile. Work still remains on mobile to remove friction through the checkout funnel.
The percentage of baskets created that did not result in a completed order.
Social Traffic
Social Traffic
The share of traffic referred by social media increased to 9% in the third quarter, with steady growth in the share coming from tablets. This is why we predict that social ads will drive 10 times more traffic than traditional marketing this holiday season.
The share of visits driven by a social media platform.
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Methodology
To qualify for inclusion in the analysis set, a digital commerce site must have transacted throughout the analysis period, and meet a monthly minimum visit threshold. Additional data hygiene factors are applied to ensure consistent metric calculation. Data footnotes are noted inline throughout the report to provide additional clarity on analysis. The Shopping Index is published quarterly. Any forecasts noted within the Shopping Index are forward-looking projections based on current and prior values and as such should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. The Shopping Index is not indicative of the operational performance of or its reported financial metrics, including Salesforce Commerce Cloud GMV growth and comparable customer GMV growth.
