As one of the most important shopping days of the year for retailers, Black Friday is also a huge priority for VTEX. From the start of 2021, we’ve been preparing for the holiday shopping season that kicks off in November, but especially for Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the days that follow, as this critical holiday shopping period that emerged in the United States keeps registering astonishing sales for VTEX customers.
In this blogpost, you will learn how leading global brands that rely on VTEX for their digital commerce business nailed Black Friday sales this year and discover a few trends to make your next peak event even more successful.
2020: A retrospective
Looking back at 2020, the world saw its greatest Black Friday ever take place. Black Friday statistics highlight that, globally, online and in-store sales increased by 139%, with the Americas region having the most prolific Black Friday shoppers.
With over 2,500 stores operating in 32 locations, VTEX customers experienced similarly astonishing growth. On the 27th of November 2020, the official Black Friday day, VTEX clients sold more than 50.4 million items, with over 28 million SKUs and saw an average of five items per order and a 3.26% conversion rate (in B2C). These results encompass all purchases made in the online stores that use VTEX as their commerce platform.
2021: Expectations and results
Once again, the estimates and expectations for Black Friday 2021 were as high as the results from the previous year, but for the first time ever the sales from digital channels saw a slight decrease globally compared to the previous year. There are macroeconomics factors at play, such as the global economic slowdown, high inflation and supply chain issues.
But this contraction can be, in part, explained by people’s desire to shop in store after almost two years of a pandemic and lockdowns: pick-up in-store orders, largely driven by Black Friday deals, increased by 70% in the month of November, reinforcing the tendency that an omnichannel experience is what customers are looking for.
Now that we have had a look at global online sales for November 2021, let’s zoom into VTEX and our customers’ results.
VTEX customer results in November 2021
This year, VTEX customers saw robust performance during the month of November. They reached their sales peak on Black Friday, November 26, at 7:00 pm ET, when the VTEX platform registered a rate of 1,867 orders per minute.
The Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) processed through the VTEX Commerce Platform in November totaled $1.3 billion USD, a number that represents a 17% increase over the same month last year and nearly triple the GMV from the same shopping period in 2019. Also, on a two-year basis, VTEX customer compound growth during the same period was 63%, showing how VTEX has helped brands and retailers accelerate their digital commerce business in the last two years.
In the opening of the 2021 holiday shopping season, which started with Black Friday and Cyber Monday, VTEX enabled 1.4 million consumer orders globally, which represents a 25% increase in the number of orders compared to November 2020 and a 2.6 times the volume compared to November 2019. This demonstrates the long-term trend of consumers spending more online and the growing penetration of digital commerce as a percentage of total retail sales.
Looking regionally, the VTEX customers that saw the highest increases in GMV were located in Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Mexico and Italy, indicating a consumer preference for online shopping during Black Friday and the entire month of November. This aligns with eMarketer data showing Brazil (26.8%), Argentina (26%) and Mexico (21.1%) among the top 5 countries with the highest growth rates in 2021, globally.
On a year-over-year basis, the GMV generated by VTEX customers that operate online marketplaces more than doubled. These companies leverage VTEX’s native marketplace capabilities to expand their catalogs and increase product assortment. By selling products from third-party sellers, VTEX customers can become a one-stop-shop for end-consumers and tap into new sources of revenue.
Growth by verticals
During the Black Friday 2021 week, statistics show that a few specific verticals experienced tremendous growth in the more than 32 countries where VTEX customers operate online stores. These segments include, beauty & health, grocery and apparel & accessories, which witnessed a respective growth of 53%, 41% and 26% in GMV on a year-over-year basis.
Certainly not a coincidence, these also happen to be the most popular categories in general for online shopping in 2021, as shoppers are getting used to buying these products online, following the trend that started with COVID-19 lockdown policies.
“VTEX’s November performance confirmed that while the pandemic accelerated ecommerce growth, the trend is here to stay and is gaining further momentum,” says Mariano Gomide de Faria, founder and co-CEO at VTEX. “Consumers who chose digital commerce in the past have stayed loyal, and new shoppers are appreciating the same usability and convenience. The trend towards buyers purchasing across various verticals and non-traditional categories is even more promising for future growth in digital commerce,” concludes Faria.
Forward-looking Statements
This document contains forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws (“forward-looking statements”), including statements with regard to commerce trends. Words such as “expects”, “anticipates” and “intends” or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.
These forward-looking statements are subject to the inherent uncertainties in predicting future results and conditions and no assurance can be given that these trends will continue. VTEX undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law.
All data presented here (including worldwide sales) is approximate and is based on various assumptions. All data is unaudited and is subject to adjustment. All growth rates presented are FX neutral.
