Tis the season: more consumers turning digital for convenient and personalized shopping

2016 has been a year of changes, especially when it comes to consumers’ shopping habits this holiday season. Transformation is occurring in eCommerce where more shoppers are turning their attention to their mobile devices to do their holiday shopping.

This transformation of the shopping experience continues at a rapid pace to provide more convenient and more personalized shopping experiences for customers. As consumers move to a more digitized experience, Verizon is evolving to meet them there.

"Verizon is going through a massive digital transformation,” said Bobby Morrison, Vice President of Wireless Digital Operations for Verizon. "Digital is the connective tissue in our customers’ journey and we are moving from a ‘one-to-many’ experience, where we speak to our customers as a whole, to a one-on-one personalized digital experience where we ‘know’ our customers and their preferences for the ways they do business with us.”

Traditionally, Black Friday was reserved for those hearty souls who hit the bricks and mortars, while Cyber Monday gave us the option to shop from the comfort of our homes. This season, we’ve seen the lines blur, with more consumers turning to digital shopping than ever before (and not just on Cyber Monday) — and a record number doing so from their mobile devices.

According to Verizon’s own 2016 Holiday Retail Index, eCommerce traffic for the top 25 U.S.-based online retailers saw consistent growth from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday, ranging from a 22% increase in peak traffic on Thanksgiving to a 39% increase in peak traffic on Black Friday.

Verizon experienced a similar swell in digital holiday traffic during the holiday weekend. Examples of Verizon’s digital holiday sales statistics include:

• Black Friday digital sales grew 51% from 2015 to 2016.
• Cyber Monday digital sales grew 180% from 2015 to 2016.
• 52% of digital traffic occurred on mobile, including the new My Verizon app --the first time. Verizon customers used their wireless devices more than their desktops to do their holiday shopping.

There’s little doubt consumers’ shopping habits will continue to shift as we look ahead to 2017. Verizon has identified several trends that underscore this shift to a more digitized customer experience. These include:

• Consumer traffic and sales accelerating  in mobile  - Traffic and sales continue to move to mobile devices
• Omnichannel - More customers are seeking an end-to-end sales experience, like purchasing online and picking up in a store.
• Personalization - Digital experiences that cater to customers’ specific expectations and needs to simplify their experience.

Morrison adds Verizon is in the process of digitizing its entire business operating model and end-to-end customer experience, with more to come in 2017.