Black Friday and Cyber Monday Set Online and Mobile Shopping Records in the UK, According to IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark

LONDON, U.K. - 02 Dec 2014: IBM (NYSE: IBM) today reported record online and mobile shopping during Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the UK based on consumer transaction data analysed in real-time by the IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark. The data-driven insight gives retailers and marketers more than 370 performance indicators to benchmark themselves against industry peers to drive more targeted customer engagements.

It has become clear from their behaviour that consumers are increasingly using technology as part of their shopping experience. Retailers are acknowledging this by optimising the customer experience, developing customer data strategies and applying the insights to drive ever more targeted and personalised communications to customers," said James Lovell, European retail solution leader, IBM. With the increase in mobile usage and the adoption of digital technologies in the physical store environment, it is encouraging to see that retailers are treating this seriously and starting to reap the rewards."

After being adopted in the UK last year, Black Friday continued to gain ground as one of the busiest UK shopping days of the year as consumers sought the best deals. Black Friday online sales were up 91.6 percent compared to 2013, driven by a 35.5 percent increase in mobile sales year-over-year. The momentum carried into Cyber Monday UK as online sales increased 22.6 percent year-over-year and, mobile sales were up 29.3 percent over the same day in 2013; with mobile devices accounting for more than one-in-three of all online purchases (42.9 percent).

The IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark is delivered to clients through the company's Smarter Commerce initiative, which combines innovation from $3.5 billion invested to develop the industry's leading customer engagement platform with expertise working with 8,000 global brands and 35,000 commerce engagements.

The IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark revealed the following trends in the UK:

Online Sales Break Records: Black Friday online sales increased 91.6 percent over 2013, with Cyber Monday up 22.6 percent year-over-year. The overall average order value on Black Friday was £88.86, up 1.4 percent, with an average of 2.8 items per order; Cyber Monday was £77.88, down 4 percent from 2013.

Mobile Shopping Spurs Online Growth: Black Friday mobile traffic accounted for 59.8 percent of all online traffic in the UK, an increase of 30.3 percent over last year. Black Friday mobile sales accounted for 47.3 percent, an increase of 35.5 percent over last year. Cyber Monday mobile sales were also strong reaching 42.9 percent of total online sales, up 29.3 percent over 2013.

Smartphones Buy: As the new digital shopping companion for many consumers, smartphones drove 39.8 percent of all Black Friday online traffic with tablets accounting for 20 percent. When it comes to mobile sales, the US trend was reversed with more sales being made on smartphones than on tablets with tablets driving 22.9 percent of online sales compared to 24.4 percent for smartphones. However tablet users averaged £89.46 per order compared to £88.22 for smartphone users.

On Cyber Monday, smartphones drove 35.3 percent of all online traffic with tablets accounting for 20.9 percent. Tablets drove 22.7 percent of online sales compared to 20.1 percent for smartphones. Tablet users averaged £ 77.57 per order compared to £ 74.09 for smartphone users.

Apple iOS vs. Android: key metrics on Black Friday and Cyber Monday were:

Black Friday

o Average Order Value: Apple iOS users averaged £88.81 per order compared to £88.95 for Android users.

o Online Traffic: Apple iOS traffic accounted for 41.8 percent of total online traffic, over double that of Android, which drove 16.7 percent of all online traffic.

o Online Sales: Apple iOS sales accounted for 35.1 percent of total online sales, more than triple that of Android, which drove 11.6 percent of all online sales.

Cyber Monday

o Average Order Value: Apple iOS users averaged £75.83 per order compared to £76.12 for Android users.

o Online Traffic: Apple iOS traffic accounted for 39.4 percent of total online traffic, more than double that of Android, which drove 15.6 percent of all online traffic.

o Online Sales: Apple iOS sales accounted for 31.3 percent of total online sales, almost triple that of Android, which drove 10.9 percent of all online sales.

"Last years benchmark revealed strong mobile growth, and this years Black Friday results confirm that mobile has become the dominant channel. continued Lovell. Retailers must continue to optimise the mobile customer experience even further going into 2015 and ensure they are capturing the very rich customer interaction data that mobile devices provide."

"Even though the economic climate has looked more positive in 2014, retailers remain cautious in their investments and maintain focus on ROI. However we have seen the UKs leading retailers invest significantly in developing their multichannel capabilities. This trend will continue into 2015, and those retailers that have not already invested in core multichannel platforms will now look to implement what they see as a strategic business system that will remain in place for many years and underpin the customer experience.

To access full reports (and real-time updates on U.S. holiday shopping trends), visit the IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark Hub and new self-service app at www.ibm.com/benchmark. For more information on how IBM's real-time analytics delivered through the cloud can improve end-to-end customer engagement, visit www.ibm.com/smartercommerce.

To join the conversation, follow #smartercommerce on Twitter.

Additional benchmark videos, infographics and FAQs are available:

IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark Video, IBM Black Friday InfoGraphic and the full 2014 IBM Black Friday Benchmark Report: www

LINK:	http://www-03.ibm.com/press/uk/en/pressrelease/45590.wss...
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