Ready for Black Friday? We have all reasons to believe in positive numbers this week

Singles Day tells us a lot about markets and consumers’ mood, worldwide. Read our report and pay attention to key learnings.

Despite the fact that big market players did not reveal their numbers from the last sale days including Singles day 11.11, we have a success story to tell: online sales on those 13 days started as early as November 1st jumped 42% globally. For the first time, content creators have been directly approached by many brands specifically to push sales around Singles Day. Purchases by Americans on Chinese marketplaces jumped to +57% worldwide, and a significant share of those sales came from content creators.

In order to determine what products were the most popular during this year’s sale and which marketplaces and websites drew all the customers to the web shops and marketplaces, Admitad analysed 20 million orders made worldwide.
Singles Day is a great “rehearsal” before the main event, Black Friday. Brands, online merchants and publishers can use the information gained from the first sale to boost their profits on the main discount day of the year.

What we have learned from several markets

USA

This year, the top 7 categories in terms of global sales on Chinese marketplaces around the world were:

• Home & Garden – 14.6%
• Jewelry & Accessories – 12.7%
• Consumer Electronics – 7%
• Electronics – 12.7% Phones & Telecommunications – 6.9%
• Beauty & Health – 6.4%
• Toys & Hobbies – 5.9%
• Sports & Entertainment – 4,7%

US audience largely mirrored global trends – fashion purchases accounted for 46% of all online orders. Electronics accounted for around 16,5%, and cosmetics and children’s goods – for 10% each.  The average purchase value during this period was at $31.

The sale also saw dramatic increases in sales in certain categories of goods worldwide. Among Admitad’s record-breaking industries in terms of sales growth are: 

• Sporting Goods +57%
• Books +18%
• Goods for kids and toys +16,7%

• Beauty products +15%
• Furniture and home goods +12%

Trust your community and content creators. Over 37% of purchases in the US were made by users who read about the product on online blogs and media. Another 19,6% of sales were made by customers who were notified about good deals by their cashback and coupon services. Another 13,9% of sales came from affiliate stores, and 6,1% – from contextual ads.

UAE

While Singles Day usually has a rather modest effect on local shopper activity, Chinese marketplaces’ used tempting deals to successfully lure millions of shoppers to the event this year. Some local online retailers also joined the sale. Not only has the GMV of online purchases increased – customer click-throughs to shop sites have also increased by 8%. The average purchase value in UAE during this period was at $22. Over 55% of purchases in UAE were made by users after reading about the product on various content websites, online media and pages of affiliate stores. Another 32% of sales were attracted by contextual ads. 15,7% of orders were placed by customers using cashback and coupon services. 

This buying behaviour is very similar to global trends, but there are important differences. For example, in the rest of the world, cashback services attracted more sales – up to 21%. On the contrary, contextual advertising was less effective on a worldwide scale – it accounted for about 9.5% of orders. 30.7% of orders during Singles Day 2022 came from smartphones.

India

This year the discount festivities were not missed by Indian shoppers who increased their online purchases by 57% during this period. Consumers favoured clothing, home and garden products, cosmetics, and electronics. 37% of these purchases were made by customers who saw great deals in articles on content websites and influencer posts on social media.

Their audience largely mirrored global trends – clothing purchases accounted for 44% of all online orders. Cosmetics accounted for around 12% and electronics for 5%. 

Over 35% of purchases in India were made by users who were notified about good deals by their cashback services. 10% of orders were placed by shoppers who read about the product on online blogs and media, and 9% of purchases came from Youtube channels. Another 6% of sales came from advertising in mobile apps, and 5% – from affiliate websites. 

This buying behaviour is very similar to global trends, but there are important differences. For example, in the rest of the world, content platforms attracted far more sales – up to 24%. Contextual advertising was also at the top in terms of effectiveness – it accounted for about 9.5% of orders.  

Poland 

The most promising and dynamic market in terms of special discounts and sales activities, Poland did not miss big numbers this time. Not only has the number of online purchases increased – customer click-throughs to shop sites have also increased by 12%. The average purchase value in Poland during this period was at $15.

Their audience largely mirrored global trends – fashion purchases accounted for more than a half of all online orders. Beauty industry received 8,8% of online purchases, sporting goods 7%, and books 4%. 

Over 55% of purchases in Poland were made by users of cashback services. Users made another 22% of sales after reading about the product on various content websites and in online media. 7,7% of orders were placed by customers from social networks. 

Germany

The country was leading in Europe, with 103 US-Dollar average basket value. Over 34% of purchases in Germany were made by users who were notified about good deals by their mobile apps. Another 31% of orders were placed by shoppers who read about the product on affiliate websites. Another 17,6% of sales came from content platforms and online-media. Noteworthy to mention that mobile purchases made over 40%, and German customers have trusted personal recommendations sent via messenger services. 

Brazil

The discount festivities were not missed by Brazilian shoppers who increased the number of their online purchases by 84% and GMV of orders by 99% during this period. Consumers favoured clothing, home and garden products, sporting goods, cosmetics, and electronics. 

Not only has the number of online purchases increased – customer click-throughs to shop sites have also increased by 34%. The average purchase value in Brazil during this period was at $31,2.

Their audience largely mirrored global trends – fashion purchases accounted for 36,5% and electronics accounted for more than 19% of all online orders. Beauty industry, furniture and home goods were among top categories as well.

Over 28,8% of purchases in Brazil were made by users who read about the product on various content websites and in online media. Users made another 11% of sales after reading about deals and goods on social media. 10% of orders were placed by shoppers who used their cashback or coupon services. 

Key learnings

We expect Black Friday will drive revenues for brands and will remain an important shopping event for customers worldwide.

• Cashback services will dominate the traffic sources, among with content websites, blogs and content creators profiles on several social networks.
• Mobile purchases will increase their share alongside all purchases.
• Customers favour fashion, beauty and electronics in their shopping activities; an insight for the Christmas season and gifting leading this way.

Stay tuned for more updates and news – and enjoy Black Friday with us!

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