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European adoption of the Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping period is strong and expanding, according to new data gleaned from CJ Affiliate network's retailer performance.
Throughout the eight-day period, Europeans made more purchases and spent a greater amount in 2016 than they did in 2015. The total number of orders in Europe increased by 75% year-on-year, while total revenues increased by 28%.
By using data from the same stores and comparing performance year-on-year, market trends during the period can be highlighted. As such, there's a striking difference between global growth and that witnessed in Europe.
While both data sets show unwavering growth across the board, in Europe there is a great deal more growth in the number of orders compared to global data. On average across the period, orders increased by a staggering 75% in Europe, while globally the increase was a more sober, standing at 9%.
Meanwhile, average revenue growth for retailers during the period was comparatively similar, standing at 28% in Europe and 26% globally.
In the US, where the Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping period originated, year-on-year order number and revenue growth is large. However, this increase is less pronounced than in Europe, where it can be argued that the shopping period is still developing, both from a consumer and a retailer perspective.
Sandrine Thompson, US-based Strategic Insights Director at CJ Affiliate, explains that: "For the November 21 – Cyber Monday time period, clicks in the EU increased 87% year on year. In comparison, clicks in the US increased 12% year-on-year for the same time period.”
Like the rest of Europe, UK shops saw particularly strong performance during the period, with peak growth in orders of 100% and 109% on 23rd and 28th November (Cyber Monday) respectively. Overall during the eight-day period, the UK witnessed a 66% growth in orders and a 31% increase in retailer revenues.
"Unlike in the US, where November sales started sluggish due to the distraction of the election season, UK November retailers were already averaging 20% year-on-year growth in number of orders heading into Black Friday,” Thompson says.
