Throughout the beginning of the year, the media was consumed with stories of a retail apocalypse; exemplified by mounting bankruptcies and store closures as well as consumer spending shifting away from retail and towards experiences, dining and travel. So all eyes were on the biggest shopping weekend of the year, Thanksgiving-Cyber Monday, to evaluate both the current health and the long-term viability of the beleaguered retail industry.

The results? Blockbuster sales all weekend long for both physical and online retailers, propelled forward by aggressive promotions and a surge in mobile shopping. Adobe Analytics reported that American consumers spent $19.62 billion online over the five-day period from Nov. 23, 2017 (Thanksgiving) through Nov. 27 (Cyber Monday). This was $2.6 billion and 15% more than they spent during the same timeframe last year. At Shopkick, our users actively shopped throughout the long weekend both in-stores and on their phones at retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, TJX, Walmart, Kohls and eBay.

Below, we explore 5 key Thanksgiving-Cyber Monday trends and what they mean for the rest of the holiday shopping season.

1. Shopping is spread out throughout the whole weekend

Given that discounts are readily available to consumers year-round, and holiday discounts started in early November, Black Friday has mostly lost its significance as THE make-or-break shopping day. Also the nature of the event has changed, as better online and mobile experiences has meant that the days of millions of consumers waiting outside for doorbuster deals and enduring jostling crowds are largely over as consumers can shop from the comfort of their own homes or phones.

While Shoppertrak found that foot traffic did decline on Thanksgiving and Black Friday by 1.6% from last year, sales were up, especially online sales. Thanksgiving Day saw a surge in online spending in the U.S., with purchases growing 18.3% to $2.87 billion compared to last year’s $1.3 billion, according to Adobe Analytics. On Black Friday, a record $5.03 billion was spent online, an increase of 16.9% over last year and a new record for the day. A good deal of the shopping took place on the websites of physical retailers – not just online only retailers. Finally, on Cyber Monday, a record $6.59 billion was spent online, an increase of 16.8 % over 2016, making it the largest mostly U.S.-based online shopping day in history and nearly a billion dollars more than last year at $5.6 billion.

2. A surge in mobile shopping

Consumers are now much more comfortable shopping and transacting on mobile devices. On Black Friday, Adobe reported smartphones accounted for 45% of visits and 26% of revenue for online retailers, working out to just under $2 billion in sales. On Cyber Monday, purchases made on smartphones broke records with $2 billion in sales. Adobe said early data for Cyber Monday activity showed mobile driving nearly 40% of online sales.

Another positive sign is that conversion rates on mobile are improving, due to improved apps, wallet integrations, and mobile transactions closing at a 12 percent higher rate year on year. Conversion rates on smartphones were at 3.5%, a 10% increase over last year according to Adobe.

3. Amazon vs. everyone else

Amazon continued to assert its dominance, and not just on Cyber Monday. Amazon accounted for half of Black Friday online sales. Based on web traffic, Amazon and Walmart increased their combined market share by 1.5%, while Target, JCPenney, and Sears all lost ground. Cyber Monday was Amazon’s biggest shopping day in company history, beating out the previous record holder, Prime Day. Amazon isn’t planning on slowing down anytime soon as their Amazon Prime subscriber growth — in terms of both numbers and how much they spend — sets them up nicely for the rest of the season.

4. Differences between online and in-store shopping

NRF and Prosper Insights found that more Americans shopped both in-stores and online, rather than sticking with just one channel. 38% of shoppers shopped both online and in-stores whereas 33% shopped online only and 29% shopped in-store only. These multichannel shoppers are more valuable to retailers, spending $82 more on average than the online-only shopper, and $49 more on average than those shoppers who only shopped in stores.

Aside from shoppers, successful omnichannel retailers are tailoring their marketing and merchandising strategies to each shopping environment. Walmart, for example, had more discounts online for heavy or bulky items like electronics that are more suitable for shipping, whereas in-store was stocked with deals for smaller, impulse buys.

5. Driving the sale: differentiated experience or discounts

Retailers essentially had 2 options to drive sales during this time: either rely on discounts or create a differentiated experience. Those that can drive sales through differentiated experiences, such as product assortment or a stellar in-store and mobile experience will protect their margins and equity against those that solely rely on heavy discounting.

Smart, not blanket, promotional strategies will win out as retailers are under tremendous pressure to feed today’s discount-driven consumer, with research showing that more than 60% of holiday shoppers are motivated by discounts. In fact, retailers have already discounted goods 10% more this year than last. These major discounts early in the holiday season lead consumers to believe that deeper discounts will be coming.

A positive outlook for the rest of the season!

While the immediate week following Black Friday was slower, as consumers recuperate and remember the doorbuster deals, December is poised to be strong for retailers. Healthy economic conditions for consumers and strong confidence should result in robust sales for physical and online retailers alike. Retailers must focus on strategies that engage shoppers across channels with relevant content, merchandise, experiences and promotions.

I remember one semester in college when I really, really wanted to take a classic spring break road trip down to Florida with all my friends. Everyone was going to pack into a minivan and head down to Panama Beach. After all my hours and hours of study, plus the healthy dose of snow that had fallen that winter, fun and sun and surf sounded like an absolute dream! There was only one obstacle in my way: money.

I knew that if I was going to make it to the promised land of destressing from academia, I was going to have to scrimp and save. Luckily, if I learned anything during my college days, it was how to make a little money go a long, long way. I was a pro.

One of the best techniques I had for stretching my budget was saving up my receipts. I know, I know, this doesn’t sound like an effective way to find some extra cash, but it really works! You’d be shocked at not only how many of those things have coupons on the back, but how many businesses—from restaurants to bookstores—offer cash back if you find a better deal.

The broke college life started my habit of looking at receipts as a viable way to save money (you know, back when I had super important financial obligations like spring break trips…ha!), but you know what? Now that I’m running a budget with three growing (and very hungry) boys at home, my college education is finally paying off (I kid). And, now that smartphones are a thing, this whole process is easy with a capital E!

How this all works is simple. I go shopping, buy things my family needs, take pictures of my receipts, and get rewarded! This wonderful concept has already taken my savings game to the next level and I just know that if you commit to it, it will do the same for yours. So, here are some of my favorite tips for how to quickly get cash back on apps for receipts.

Tip #1: Save Your Receipts to Get Cash Back on Apps

The semester that I saved up for my college spring break trip, I used an old shoe box to store all of my receipts. These days, you can quickly photograph and catalog proof of purchase for everything you buy with all the best cash back apps for receipts. Maybe you don’t need the shoebox anymore, but the advice is still sound: to make this work, you absolutely must save all your receipts.

Most stores still hand out paper receipts without asking, but if they don’t, they’re quick to print on if you ask. I have a lot of friends who say they have gotten so used to throwing out receipts that their first impulse is to automatically scrunch them up, where they get lost at the bottom of their shopping never to be seen again. Break that habit—for the good of your checkbook!

My advice? Make taking a picture of each receipt an automatic part of your shopping trip…

My advice? Make taking a picture of each receipt an automatic part of your shopping trip, just like jotting down a list, fighting for parking, and desperately digging in your purse for your keys while keeping one eye on your kiddos and not dropping a single bag (just me?). It’s the first thing I do when I get in the door of the house after shopping, even before I put the milk away. But, if it works better for you to snap a quick photo of your receipt as soon as you sit down in the car, hey, you do you! Whatever works, because if you get good enough at saving receipts, you can eventually make money while you shop using apps.

Tip #2: Get Your Friends to Also Earn Cash Back on Apps for Receipts

What I remember most about that college spring break trip is how much fun it was to be down there with my friends, all of us relaxed and not a care in the world. In fact, I think most of the big moments in my life are like that. It’s the company that makes a memory special.

All the best shopping rewards receipt apps are like that, too. In fact, most of them actually give you points that you can convert into cash or gift cards for getting your friends and family to sign up with you! In my experience, what’s even better, though, is sharing notes with your friends about the stores and products that are earning you the most points and rewards while you shop through your app. I’ve found myself texting my girlfriends while I’m still in the aisles as if they were right there with me.

In my experience, what’s even better, though, is sharing notes with your friends about the stores and products that are earning you the most points and rewards while you shop through your app.

One key thing you must do to maximize your savings is to use your cash back on receipts app over and over again. When your friends are into it too, that becomes so much easier—and a lot more fun!

Tip #3: Use the Best Apps That Offer Cash Back for Receipts

Just like we wouldn’t have made it down to Florida without one of us having an old minivan, you’re going to need a vehicle that can get you to the savings and rewards you deserve—and by vehicle, I mean you’re going to have to pick out an easy-to-use app (or apps since you can use multiple rewards programs apps together).

Here’s a quick list of some of my favorites that I’ve shared with my own friends:

SavingStar: SavingStar is a pretty typical receipt savings app. You buy products, you scan your receipt, and you get cash back into your special SavingStar account. Why I like this app, though, is that it actually has a heavy emphasis on buying groceries, which, again, with three hungry boys, I have to do all. of. the. time. Anyway, SavingStar is cool because it even has things like the Healthy Offer of the Week, which encourages my family and me to buy healthy fruits and vegetables. Very cool.
Checkout 51: Checkout 51 works almost exactly like SavingStar (real talk, many of these apps work pretty much the same way), with one of the main differences being that Checkout 51 does this thing where it rolls out a new set of offers each Thursday at 12 a.m. Um, don’t even ask me how many times I’ve stayed up until midnight just to see the new sales.
Shopkick: Now we come to my all-time favorite (cheering, fireworks going off, you name it), Shopkick. Shopkick is a receipt savings app, but it also gives you points, called kicks, for scanning the barcodes of featured products and even just walking into some popular stores. You can even use it for your online purchases at many popular websites! And, speaking of using it with friends, Shopkick also has an absolutely fantastic social media community of shoppers who share tips about shopping (of course) and a ton of other things as well, like recipes and jokes and gifs! I love it, and while I’m known to use all three of these apps together, Shopkick is definitely the one I spend the most time on—and have the most fun with.

Now that you know how to quickly get cash back on apps for receipts, it’s time to go out there and get it done! All of the apps above are great about letting you cash in when you reach a certain minimum balance, none of which is higher than $20. And don’t forget to use them all with your friends! Everything’s more fun together, and, hey, who knows? Maybe you all can save enough money that you can take a special spring break moms trip together this year—with your kids to the zoo. #momlife

Ready to explore the best cash back apps for receipts—and have fun doing it? Download Shopkick for free and join a community of loyal Shopkickers who’ve already discovered the rewards of shopping with us.

And, if you love social media as much as you love stretching your budget, join us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for daily shopping inspiration.

Image courtesy stokkete

Day: December 4, 2017

5 Trends from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday