Initial results show that like-for-like app traffic grew 240% on Black Friday 2019 compared to 2018, according to the latest findings from Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2019 from shopping app platform Poq.
In the company’s latest research into shopping behaviour on apps, shoppers were seen to be spending a staggering 387,336 hours in shopping apps on Black Friday, up 105% from 2018.
The research examined consumer behaviour for over 45 shopping apps ranging from global fashion brands to furniture and beauty retailers. The findings show the continued preference from consumers for shopping on apps over the biggest sales days, as more shoppers chose to shop this way.
Not only did shoppers spend more time in app per shopper than they did on desktop (2.1x more time) and mobile web (3.7x more time) across the weekend from Black Friday to Cyber Monday, but they prepared for Black Friday much earlier too.
Data shows that shoppers engaged more with apps in the run-up to Black Friday, with a higher percentage of app shoppers using the wish list functionality in the days leading up to Black Friday. There are two main explanations for this; firstly, that app shoppers are saving products on the run-up to Black Friday and making purchases on the day, or that app shoppers make impulse buys on Black Friday and add items straight to their basket and not the wish list. Poq suggests that the reason for this is likely a combination of the two.
Along with shoppers spending more time on app overall, shoppers engaged more within apps on Black Friday too. App shoppers spent an average of 2 minutes 20 seconds watching ‘App Stories’ – a similar shoppable feature to Instagram Stories, showing video, images and even GIFs for a short period of time.
Additionally, using the Swipe-to-Like feature – similar to Tinder, where shoppers swipe left or right on products images to ‘like’ or ‘dislike’ products, to dismiss them or add them to their wish list.there was an average of 33 swipes per shopper. These engaging shopping experiences drove shoppers to spend more time on the apps, engage with brands further and discover more products.
Oyvind Henriksen, CEO and Co-Founder at Poq comments: “It is encouraging to see that apps are a driving force behind the biggest Black Friday to date. We have uncovered a growing trend of shoppers spending more time in app and engaging more with in-app content. Looking ahead,we expect this trend to grow in 2020, with apps not just overtaking desktop in terms of traffic but for apps to overtake desktop revenue also.”
