Conversant, the leader in personalized digital marketing, today released metrics highlighting online consumer shopping activity during the four-day stretch between Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The analysis uncovered key insights about the most critical shoppers and their increasingly complex cross-device shopping behaviors across PCs, smartphones and tablets.

This data was gathered via Conversant’s purchase visibility across more than 4,000 retailers, and the company’s ability to see more than 73 billion online interactions per day. In addition, its advanced user-to-device, deterministic matching methodology enables Conversant to provide a more accurate assessment of how people use different digital devices for their shopping.

“Through our scale and industry-leading cross-device matching capabilities, we offer our clients a ring-side view into consumer shopping habits during the holiday season,” said Raju Malhotra, SVP of products at Conversant. “The results showed the growing impact of cross-device shopping and buying behaviors across all demographics.”

The Conversant analysis highlighted:

CROSS-DEVICE BROWSING AND PURCHASE

  • Four in ten shoppers now browse across multiple devices. 42% of consumers exhibited cross-device behavior by using multiple devices to shop (as opposed to exclusively on desktop).
  • 1/3 of transactions are now made by mobile shoppers. 33% of all online purchases seen on Black Friday came from consumer shopping on mobile devices – smartphones and tablets.

TRENDS BY AGE

  • Online shopping activity was highest among individuals aged 35-39. This age group was also likely to shop on multiple devices, and 27% of purchases from this group came from mobile devices.
  • Individuals aged 45-49 spent more per order than any other group. On average this group spent $147 per order, 8% higher than the average across all age groups. 21% of total purchases from this group came from mobile devices and the rest came from desktop.

TRENDS BY DEVICE

  • Smartphone web visits and purchases doubled. Across the vast Conversant footprint of thousands of retailers, smartphone site visits more than doubled in 2014 versus last year, accounting for 43% of total traffic this year, compared to 20% last year. Mobile’s share of total purchases doubled year over year, representing 18% in 2014 compared to 9% in 2013.
  • Tablet e-commerce traffic share declined. Site visits via tablets fell from 22% of total in 2013 to 17% in 2014.

CYBERWEEKEND SALES HIGHER THAN SALES FOR REST OF THE MONTH

  • CyberWeekend days drive more transactions than average days. Total online purchases during CyberWeekend were 42% higher than online purchases during the week prior. Cyber Monday witnessed the highest amount of site traffic (6% more than Black Friday) as well as the most number of online transactions (2% more than Black Friday).

“To capitalize and win on CyberWeekend, retailers need the richest possible insight into each consumer to understand what they want at this exact moment,” said Scott Eagle, CMO of Conversant. “Through insights like these at the individual consumer level, Conversant focuses on helping its clients better connect and engage with consumers. As the short selling season of 2014 unfolds, rich consumer understanding is essential to driving the best possible sales results.”

About Conversant

Conversant, Inc. (NASDAQ: CNVR) is the leader in personalized digital marketing. Conversant helps the world’s biggest companies grow by creating personalized experiences that deliver higher returns for brands and greater satisfaction for people. We offer a fully integrated personalization platform, personalized media programs and the world's largest affiliate marketing network – all fueled by a deep understanding of what motivates people to engage, connect and buy. For more information, please visit www.conversantmedia.com.

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