Digital Commerce Sees 11 Percent More Traffic And 8 Percent Growth In Shopper Spend

By Christine Kern, contributing writer

Salesforce Shopping Index reveals the “true story of shopping” in its analysis.

Salesforce Commerce Cloud announced its Fourth Quarter Shopping Index, an interactive report, which tracks the global shopping activity of more than 500 million shoppers worldwide. According to the data, Digital commerce saw 19 percent year-over-year growth, with 11 percent more traffic and an 8 percent spike in shopper spend, bolstered by a strong Christmas Holiday Shopping Season.

As Rick Kenney, Head of Consumer Insights at Salesforce Commerce Cloud, explained, “The growth itself may not be particularly surprising, but the source of the growth is. With 11 percent more traffic and an 8 percent  spike in shopper spend, this was the most balanced growth we have seen over the past three years. Another perspective on this growth is the contrast of old and new sources of growth. In the fourth quarter, social media emerged as a meaningful traffic-driving channel; driving 5 percent of mobile traffic, up 61 percent over last year.”

The report also found that mobile accounted for 52 percent of all traffic, as shoppers are eager for the much anticipated release of Apple Pay for mobile web; and social media emerged as a meaningful traffic-driving channel, driving 5 percent of mobile traffic, up 61 percent over last year. Visit duration also increased to 6.6 minutes, the longest duration since 2014, which was bolstered by an increased in mobile visit duration.

And the data supports the fact that mobile-first shopping is the trend. Not only did mobile account for 52 percent of all traffic, but mobile buying indicators are also pointing up, as shoppers are expressing more buying intent on phones and increased mobile conversion. Meanwhile, on-site search and other proven shopping tools continue to bolster growth. As Kenney explains, “shoppers engaging with site search contribute 18 percent and 25 percent of revenue to brand and retail sites respectively. Beyond this reliable revenue contribution, retailers should increase investments geared to innovations in site search, including leveraging artificial intelligence, which enhances product findability. Chat bots may garner more attention these days, but site search is a proven tool upon which shoppers continue to rely.”