Black Friday and Cyber Monday Go Global
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. CREDIT: International flags image via Shutterstock |
Though Thanksgiving may be a quintessentially American celebration, the shopping orgy that follows is well on its way to becoming an international phenomenon. Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping have gone global, a new survey found. And U.S. retailers are the beneficiaries.
International sales more than tripled at U.S. retailers as consumers in more than 100 countries took part in Black Friday and Cyber Monday holiday shopping specials, according to sales data and consumer insights obtained in a survey of more than 4,000 adults worldwide. The survey was conducted online by FiftyOne, a provider of international ecommerce solutions.
American retailers have not been shy about expanding their reach beyond their borders, especially during the critical holiday shopping season, the survey found. In addition to enabling international shoppers to take advantage of deals previously available only to American shoppers, more than 35 top U.S. retail brands offered additional in-country promotions.
International consumers spent the most money at luxury department stores, spending on average $337 per transaction, the sales data collected by FiftyOne showed. The top shopping categories were apparel for men, women and children; shoes; and home goods.
Colombians were the most avid holiday shoppers, spending more 11 times their average daily purchases throughout the year over the Black Friday weekend, the survey found. Shoppers in Israel and Ireland spent seven times their average, followed by Mexico ( more than six times their average), South Korea (five times) and Russia and China (more than four times).
Email marketing from retailers was the top driver of awareness and purchasing of U.S. brands (79 percent), followed by online advertising (34 percent), social media (16 percent) and friends and family (13 percent).
"More global consumers than ever before logged on to shop U.S. retailers this past Black Friday through Cyber Monday shopping weekend, and for the first time, FiftyOne saw a majority of its merchants actively market to and engage their international audience," said Michael DeSimone, CEO of FiftyOne.
Reach BusinessNewsDaily senior writer Ned Smith at nsmith@techmedianetwork.com. Follow him on Twitter @nedbsmith.We're also on Facebook & Google+.