Ecommerce Intelligence
These 5 Mega Shopping Days Dominate Online Retail in the UK
In our latest UK Retail Report, Similarweb data shows the holiday shopping season is dominated by five Mega Shopping days. The UK holiday shopping season continues to follow the American retail industry, importing Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday while adding a unique local flavor. These five mega shopping days are topping the traffic charts of the holiday season and indeed the entire fiscal year:
1. Thanksgiving Day
The federal American holiday has marked the launch of the Christmas shopping season in the US for decades. Over the past two years, UK consumers are following suit online. Thanksgiving saw several UK retailers increase traffic by up to 207%.
2. Black Friday
The Friday immediately following Thanksgiving day, Black Friday has been a US consumer magnet and the most trafficked day of the year. It wasn’t until 2013 that UK retailers began to notice a web traffic surge on Black Friday, a trend which intensified last year and is expected to continue. Similarweb identified the top 5 UK retailers that received the most traffic last year.
3. Cyber Monday
The Monday following Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday, Cyber Monday is the e-commerce extension of the holiday shopping season. While global online retailers lead in traffic share, the data show local players can still capitalize on the growing trend.
4. Christmas Day
While consumers in North America get most of their shopping done in time for gifts to arrive by December 25th, Britons continue to shop throughout Christmas Day. As a result, local online retailers continue to register record traffic levels.
5. Boxing Day
Following Christmas Day and unique to English culture, Boxing Day marks the first weekday after the holiday. Traditionally, servants and hired helped received a “Christmas Box” from employers with gratuities. It is commemorated today as a national “bank” holiday, providing even more opportunities for consumers and retailers alike to land that last-minute deal.
Download the full UK Retail Report >
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