IBM predicts a strong online shopping season with online sales projected to increase 15% between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, according to a company press release.
Cyber Monday is expected to see the biggest increase in online sales, growing 15.8%, followed closely by Thanksgiving with a projected increase of 15.6%. Black Friday online sales are expected to grow 13% as consumers look for the best deals.
Mobile will be the primary driver of online growth, IBM predicts. Browsing is expected to account for 48.2% of all online traffic over the five-day Thanksgiving shopping period, an increase of 23% over last year. Mobile sales are expected to rise, accounting for 24.4% of all online sales, up 9.5% year-over-year.
Apple’s dominance in mobile shopping experiences is also expected to continue with iOS device traffic projected to double over Android devices, and sales are expected to quadruple, according to IBM.
Mobile is the new Thanksgiving tradition. IBM predicts more than half of all online shopping will happen on Thanksgiving; roughly 53% will come from a mobile device, up 23% year-over-year. Mobile sales are expected to grow, reaching 28% of all Thanksgiving online sales, an increase of more than 9% over 2013.
When it comes to digital coupons, IBM predicts shoppers will save this holiday season as they cash in on online deals. Consumers are projected to spend an average of $123.28 per online order over the five-day holiday period, a decrease of 2.9% over 2013. The average number of items included in the purchases will be 4.4 per order, an increase of 17% year-over-year.
Click-through rates for emails sent during the five-day shopping period are projected to be 10% higher than the same period last year. This is a result of data-driven insights which allow marketers to reduce clutter by delivering personalized and relevant promotions. IBM predicts that 35% of all click-through will happen on a mobile device. The highest volume of emails is expected on Cyber Monday.
Smartphones will continue to lead in mobile browsing, accounting for 29% of all online traffic vs. 15% for tablets. IBM predicts however, that tablets will account for twice as many mobile purchases than smartphones due to larger screen size.