3 Lessons Learned From Retailers During Peak Season 2021

In terms of industry results, fashion and jewellery remained the second most popular category amongst BigCommerce’s merchants following the sporting goods during the peak season.

Good news for our merchants, but how could that help you plan a better 2022 ecommerce strategy?

Here are three lessons we learned during this peak season that all fashion retailers should keep in mind for 2022:

Customers are Shopping on Mobile

42% of all Cyber Week orders were made on mobiles this year. On the other hand, tablets continued their steady decline to only represent 1.3% of Cyber Week orders. Continuing at this rate, we can project tablet sales to fall to less than 1% of order share during the 2022 holiday season.

A recent survey BigCommerce conducted with PayPal on consumer spending trends confirmed this is a trend that goes beyond the peak season with 66.7% of the UK respondents confirming they now make a purchase on their mobile device at least once a month.

So taking an mcommerce — or mobile-first — approach can provide you with a strong competitive advantage. Mobile-friendliness is now a must-have, especially in the fashion and jewellery industry. Over half of BigCommerce retailers in this industry online orders were placed on mobile devices during Black Friday.

Customers Shopped Across Multiple Channels

In 2021, BigCommerce expanded the number of omnichannel integrations for merchants  — meaning customers have more avenues for online shopping than ever before. Omnichannel commerce saw YoY growth in GMV and orders, confirming that not only are customers shopping more online — they’re shopping across digital channels like social commerce and marketplaces.

Thus, delivering a frictionless shopping experience across channels should be top of mind for merchants. If you’re trying to decide which channels are right for your business, consider this 2021 Cyber Week finding:  We found that fashion and jewellery was one of the top categories on Facebook and Instagram, whereas health and beauty performed best on Amazon. 

And don’t forget that omnichannel doesn’t mean online only; it’s important to ensure every touchpoint connects seamlessly, including physical retail. 

Alternative Payment Methods Grew in Popularity

During Cyber Week, we also saw buy now, pay later (BNPL) solutions grew 39% YoY in GMV. These new payment options represent a real opportunity for merchants as they have the potential to help increase your AOV by offering customers more flexibility for large purchases.

And there are other alternative payment methods that gained in popularity this year; our survey with PayPal found out that before March 2020, 38% of the UK respondents used to prefer digital wallets as a payment method online and they are now 45.8%. We made the same observation in-store as digital wallet payments rose from 22.9% to 37.8% as the preferred payment method.

Speaking of PayPal, we also noted that the solution accounted for the largest share of total Cyber Week orders. Finding relevant ways to meet your customers expectations in terms of fulfilment is now key and it doesn’t stop with the payment but should also include checkout, shipment and return options.

Conclusion

Fashion and jewellery retailers remained quite strong during the peak season, but if these industries are successful, there are also highly competitive.

In order to remain on top of consumers minds, it will be key in 2022 to perfectly know your customer’s preferences in terms of product discovery and orders fulfilment amongst others. This way you will not only be able to meet their expectations but will exceed them and have they come back for more!

Looking for the right partner in growth? Register for a free trial on www.bigcommerce.co.uk