In the wake of COVID-19, things in the ecommerce world are hanging in balance. We've been encouraged by businesses and agencies in the Shopify ecosystem stepping up to pool their resources and talents to help more vulnerable store owners (e.g. see how Shopify is helping, as well as Offline2On, an initiative we're involved with at Littledata). But, since we're analysts at heart, we wanted to take a closer look at recent sales trends among Shopify stores to see the impact COVID-19 is actually having on shopping behavior. Shopping behavior during COVID-19 While some stores have seen a surge of shopping activity and orders, others have struggled to match their normal volume. With no end in sight to the global pandemic, many shoppers are choosing to be frugal with non-essential spending. To find out how many Shopify stores were either surging or struggling to stay afloat, we broke down the data, week over week, from Q1 2020 (8 weeks total). We focused on: Order volume Average order value (AOV) We chose these metrics in particular because they're two of the strongest indicators of overall shopping behavior. We sampled 200 Shopify stores from across 5 different industries: Beauty Food and drink Health and fitness Pets Style and fashion But before we drill down data by industry, let's look at ecommerce as a whole. Global ecommerce trends and observations While global ecommerce has experienced an increase in order volume over the past 2 months, you can see the recent, steady decline in AOV during the same period (though it has mostly remained unchanged since Feb). It's possible the spike in order volume is due to social distancing, as country after country institutes their own version of stay-at-home orders. Interestingly, AOV's decline could be due to shoppers squeezing their wallets a bit tighter during the pandemic. With uncertainty looming in just about every area of life, some marketers believe shoppers are more reluctant to spend more per order; they're mostly sticking to "essential" purchases. Shopify order volume & AOV by industry The first graph below shows change in order volume by industry. The second graph illustrates changes by average order value, also segmented by industry. Beauty From the middle of February to now, the beauty industry seems to have leveled out in terms of orders. This is a pretty standard showing for beauty, which does not seem to be drastically affected by COVID-19 so far. The beauty industry's AOV may have seen an early drop, but has been steady since. Food and drink Food and drink likely experienced the rise in order volume the past few weeks due a the surge of worrisome shoppers; global uncertainty about the pandemic means grocery stores and supermarkets were packed for weeks as people stocked up as much as possible. Many subscription boxes (and meal replacement brands such as Soylent and Huel) have also seen a surge in order volume. However, the industry has hit a steep decline in the week since. A slight increase in order value overall, but nothing alarming or surprising here. Health and fitness Similar to food and drink, health and fitness saw a spike in AOV a few weeks ago that has since led to a steady decline. With no end in sight to the pandemic, this may continue as people opt to do their workouts at home and spend less on non-essential nutrition supplements and apparel. Pets Interestingly, the pets industry sank into a trough through most of February and March in terms of order volume, but has remained steady in terms of AOV. Style and fashion Style and fashion is looking like the "trendiest" industry (bad pun, I know) since early February, with a sudden spike in order volume (about a month ago) followed by a sudden drop. Style and fashion stores may see a resurgence soon, but it's too early to tell if this shopper behavior was due to COVID-19. As you can see, average order value has increased over the past few months in this space. So what's next? Over the next few months, we'll analyze the data from Q2 for a bigger picture of COVID-19's affect on Shopify stores. In the meantime, check out our benchmarks for Shopify stores and general website performance benchmarks. These tools are designed to help you gauge your site performance, as well as metrics like AOV, ecommerce conversion rate, mobile search bounce rate, server response time, and more. Stay tuned for new Shopify data analysis soon!

The fast-spreading coronavirus is the last reason we want to be hyping up remote work. But alas, here we are. 2020 was deemed “the year of remote work" by LinkedIn leaders. More companies than ever were projected to make true strides in shifting to a more flexible, sustainable remote work model. As companies turn to remote work as a potential solution to minimize the spread of COVID-19, there are some other, very real concerns: According to Workplaceless, only 30% of business leaders feel their company is well prepared for the increase of remote work Less than 10% of employees strongly agree that their leaders have the skills needed to thrive in the digital economy Before the virus began spreading, 38% of remote workers received zero training on tips and strategies for effective remote work Tammy Bjelland, CEO of Workplaceless, even expressed concern about both employees and employers being extremely ill-prepared for this abrupt work culture shift: While remote work is a valid strategy to maintain business continuity in times of crisis like the outbreak of COVID-19, suddenly allowing remote work with no clear policy or processes in place will not have the same positive outcomes as investing adequate resources into preparing leaders and employees for success in a remote environment. And these are fair concerns. With the current public health crisis, a huge chunk of the workforce is starting to experience remote work for the first time. And the patterns don't lie: Employees generally enjoy it. But many larger companies are typically reluctant to change, especially to such a fundamental reshaping of the workplace.  In spite of all of the bad consequences of the recent virus outbreak, remote work might be the best thing to come out of all of this. It might finally bring this work revolution to the mainstream, after years of slowly brewing only within small teams or freelancers. At Littledata, we have a fully distributed team in four different countries and six different cities. Here are some benefits of our global remote culture: 1. Shorter commute time Most remote workers do their work either at home or at co-working spaces or cafes (and the same is true of our team). These are usually closer to home. Compared to my last workplace, I now save 40 minutes every day when I go into our co-working space, or 70 minutes when I work from home. That might not seem like much, but 70 minutes saved every work day comes out to 24 hours saved per month (3 full work days). That wasted energy can be put to better use by focusing it on daily work tasks. 2. Less distractions An office is usually a loud place, and even more so in an open-space layout. Although I like talking to colleagues (even though I'm more of an introvert), it can be unproductive. It can take up to 23 minutes to return to the original task after an interruption.  Most of the time, I only keep the essentials with me (laptop, charger and headphones). I don’t have to water any plants, I don’t have to rearrange my cat photos on my desk, I don’t even have a fixed desk to be emotionally attached to. :)  My co-working space is specifically tailored to tech companies. So even when I do get distracted, the talks are mainly about new technologies, which could actually help solve some bugs at work.  Every few days, we have tech meetups organized as well. 3. Everyone arrives in meetings on time This may seem counter-intuitive, but it's true; when the calendar alerts you of a meeting, everyone is usually on the conference call within a minute or two.  Every teammate is very focused on the tasks at hand, so not much useless talk occurs. Sure, the connection might drop for someone, or someone might mute their microphone by mistake, but these things get better over time. Plus, getting everyone on the same page is easier by sharing your screen — not cramming the whole team into a conference room. 4. Mutual trust and empathy At the heart of every successful remote team is trust. Sounds almost too simple, right? It’s not. When employers trust their people and the people trust their employer, good things tend to happen. Companies tend to grow, cultures tend to strengthen, and productivity tends to spike. And this isn’t unique to remote work. It’s at the core of good leadership for any organization — government, schools, non-profits, sports teams, etc. Remote work as a result of COVID-19 isn’t a tropical vacation — it’s a stressful time, especially for workers living in urban areas. Your team leaders should empower you (and trust you) to do your best work, even during this coronavirus outbreak. We certainly feel this kind of trust and empathy from our leaders at Littledata! 5. Bonus: benefits for companies As companies embrace remote work, they often realize that there are more benefits than overhead cost-cutting: Recruiting: when you make your operations remote, you have a much larger talent pool to choose from. Global support teams: you probably provide some sort of support to your customers or partners, either by phone, email or live chat. Having support teams around the world helps your team cover any timezone, and faster response times means happier customers. Of course, working remotely is not for everyone. Reduced oversight and in-person communication can reduce productivity. However, at Littledata, we believe the opposite is often true: working remotely can not only increase productivity, but can also boon creativity, critical thinking and lead to happier employees. During this coronavirus outbreak, companies are trying to figure it out. But one thing's for sure; for many people, remote work is more productive — whether or not we're social distancing. [note]We're hiring at Littledata! Check out our job openings[/note]

In a past post, we shared a similar post about the top 6 coffee brands using ReCharge for Shopify.  This time around, we'll take a look at some top beauty and fashion brands on Shopify that also use ReCharge. If you run a subscription store and you don't use ReCharge, check out some of the benefits of the Shopify ReCharge connection. As we mentioned in that post, ReCharge helps Shopify and Shopify Plus merchants sell and manage subscriptions with ease. [tip]Read about our new ReCharge v2 connection, which tracks your subscription lifecycle events automatically[/tip] When you connect ReCharge to your store, you’ll see ReCharge’s full feature set at work — track a variety of subscription types, including single product, mixed cart & entire cart subscriptions.  Why connect ReCharge with Shopify? Whether you're an agency, ecommerce manager, marketing manager or part of a development team, the ReCharge and Shopify APIs allow you to: Customize the checkout experience for customers Personalize how those customers manage their subscriptions Automate product discount codes Order cancellation processes or updated pricing on select items And that’s just scratching the surface. Installing ReCharge on your store also means orders are processed faster (thanks to an increased API call limit). [note]Littledata’s Google Analytics app is designed for better subscription ecommerce, including accurate tracking for marketing attribution and checkout steps.[/note] According to McKinsey, the ecommerce market has grown over 100 percent per year  over the last three years, with 60% of those subscriptions purchased by women. 31% of millennials are also currently subscribed to a subscription box, and that number is expected to rise. According to Shopify, revenue for fashion ecommerce will rise from $481.2 billion to $712.9 billion by 2022. But while fashion and beauty brands continue to soak up every ounce of consumers' preference to shop online, the online fashion market has become extremely saturated, especially as brands use influencer marketing and focus their advertising efforts on Instagram. Let’s take a look at 6 of the top beauty brands on Shopify making a splash in the online subscription world. Keep in mind, these brands have found success using ReCharge to manage their subscriptions.  From sustainable beauty products to customizable and personalized boxes, the market is filled with options for consumers — there's something for everyone. 1) Kopari Beauty Kopari Beauty is a California-based beauty brand specializing in coconut oil-based skincare products. Kopari launched its store in 2015 and have taken the beauty world by storm. The company uses 100% pure, organic coconut oil sustainably sourced from farms in the Philippines. Their products are paraben-free, cruelty-free, sulfate-free, phthalate-free, and vegan.  2) Ellie Activewear A Littledata customer, Ellie Activewear is an active wear brand tailored to women through their online lifestyle Shopify store. This subscription box has a focus on self-love with outfits that promote confidence so women can love the skin they are in. Ellie delivers high-quality activewear right to your door, so you can "smile with the time you save and feel good about what you’re wearing."  3) Box of Style Another Littledata customer, Box of Style is backed behind the fashion powerhouse Rachel Zoe.  The American fashion designer, celebrity stylist and reality TV star launched this box in 2018 and it’s taken off since. It allows consumers to go through a preference list to get more insight before style boxes are carefully curated to fit each customer.  4) Laurel and Reed Laurel and Reed deliver a beauty box filled with all natural and non-toxic beauty products. The founder started the company after her father was diagnosed with cancer with the goal to provide products that are clean. They want their customers to have beautiful skin from products that are not loaded with chemicals. You get to choose the plan you want whether that’s 1x/3x/6x/12x or a one time not renewing box. You’ll receive 3 full size products that total to $100+.  5) Vegamour Vegamour is a plant-based beauty brand that specializes in brows, eyelashes, and hair growth. This clean beauty brand has been featured in Allure and InStyle and offers a starter kit  so that you can try the products before committing to full size products. 6) Luxe Catch Luxe Catch is a fashion surprise themed mystery box that is filled with hand picked designer items. Customers fill out a style profile that helps cater items to each customer items. Luxe Catch fills boxes with designer wear from popular brands. The boxes begin at $50 ($200 value) and $250 ($1000 value).  Track your subscription data with accuracy If you’re confused as to how the connection works (and which subscription events you can track), don’t worry — there's an ebook for that! Download it for free.  ReCharge is a terrific Shopify app that will save you countless hours by automating and managing your subscription lifecycle from start to finish. If you’re a subscription store and you haven’t tried ReCharge v2, we highly encourage you to give it a go!

At least in the last few years, subscription ecommerce has become one of the most popular business models. The numbers don't lie: the return on investment, value per customer and buying frequency are higher for subscription businesses charging a recurring fee. Everything in this article can be applied to subscription businesses, but Shopify stores already using ReCharge and Littledata's Google Analytics app will especially benefit! [tip]Trust your subscription tracking with the ultimate ReCharge guide for Shopify[/tip] Getting started with ReCharge ReCharge is the most widely-used recurring billing solution for Shopify, powering thousands of stores and processing tens of thousands of orders daily. To create a "complete" recurring billing cycle for merchants, we built out a ReCharge smart connection within our Shopify app to provide accurate sales attribution via Google Analytics. In other words, our app: Fixes your data collection Offers accurate marketing insights within Google Analytics (or Segment) Provides the full Enhanced Ecommerce experience [note]Easily track your subscription lifecycle events with ReCharge v2[/note] Install the ReCharge app to get: Proper marketing attribution in Google Analytics Product views and shopping behavior Checkout conversion funnels (including voucher usage) Better understanding of repeat buyers The initial steps to install the Google Analytics tracking for Shopify are illustrated here. If you want advanced analysis of your buyers and their shopping behavior, you'll need to make the following setup: Step 1 – Enable the feature in Google Analytics First, go into Google Analytics (both your normal Google Analytics property and the property that has been created by Littledata) and enable the User-ID feature by going to Admin > Property > Tracking info > User-ID. Click On, next, On, next, give the new view a name, and you're done. Note: The new view will start to collect data from the point of creation so you will need to wait a bit to use this report. The sources of the purchases will be collected from the point of creation so most of the orders will be shown in the first month from direct / (none). Step 2 – Enable the Enhanced Ecommerce feature in Google Analytics In Google Analytics, click Admin. In the right side under View, choose the new Registered Users view that you've created earlier and click Ecommerce Settings. Toggle to On and then click Next step. Toggle On for Enhanced Ecommerce, and click Save. Finding the initial source for recurring subscriptions Using the Registered view, navigate on the sidebar to Acquisition -> All traffic -> Source/Medium or Channels. This report will show both new customers and recurring ones. We need to apply a segment to this report in order to show only the recurring users. This is how you set up the segment to exclude first time buyers: Now, with the above segment applied, you can check the original source of the sale for all transactions from repeat buyers. The other helpful report is the Audience -> Cohort Analysis report. In this report, you can see user retention for each day, week or month. Combining this report with an advanced segment that excludes first-time buyers AND includes only buyers that had their first transaction in December will: provide number of users that started the subscription package in December measure the actual retention of this group Tracking subscription lifecycle events ReCharge has always been one of Littledata’s most popular connections for ecommerce analytics. The new version of our ReCharge connection captures subscription lifecycle events for even more detailed tracking and attribution. What’s new with v2 Track subscription lifecycle events, including subscription updates and cancellations Get accurate marketing attribution for subscription lifecycle events Include subscription lifecycle events in LTV calculations Automatically track the following subscription lifecycle events: Subscription Created Subscription Cancelled Subscription Updated Order Processed Customer Updated Charge Failed Payment Method Updated Max Retries Reached Advanced ReCharge tracking (such as LTV tracking and a separate view for recurring purchases) are still included in the ReCharge connection — we’ve simply expanded the functionality to capture even more data points. Learn more about the connection with our ultimate ReCharge guide for Shopify.

If you haven't heard the news, we recently announced the launch of ReCharge v2, a revamped update to our popular ReCharge connection for Shopify. ReCharge v2 allows new and current Littledata users to track subscription lifecycle events with 100% accuracy, all within their preferred dashboard of Google Analytics or Segment. [tip]Download our free guide to advanced analytics for ReCharge and Shopify[/tip] Some of the ecommerce events you can now track are: Subscription created Subscription cancelled Order processed Charge failed and more! [note]See the full slate of events you can track with ReCharge v2.[/note] Advanced analytics for Shopify and ReCharge Even before v2, integrating Littledata with ReCharge lets you capture data about the entire subscriber journey, from marketing campaigns to first-time payments and recurring revenue.   And of course, Littledata connects that data from Shopify and ReCharge to your preferred data destination, either Google Analytics or Segment. Now, with a revamped connection for ReCharge users, we're offering something even juicier — a free guide to advanced analytics for Shopify and ReCharge. Download the guide for free today! [subscribe heading="Get the ReCharge connection guide" background_color="green" button_text="Free download" button_link="https://www.littledata.io/app/recharge-smart-connection-guide"]

Fashion consumers are buying more online than ever have before. In fact, Forrester even predicted the number of worldwide online fashion buyers will surpass 910 million in the next two years, making fashion & beauty the largest ecommerce industry overall. Naturally, like any industry with a slice of the ecommerce pie, fashion is dynamic — continuously changing the way products are presented to shoppers and innovating in order to stand out among sky-high shopper expectations. This effects marketing, sales and every stage of the buying funnel. And that's not even mentioning social marketing, with growing social commerce and the meteoric effect that influencer marketing has had on fashion ecommerce. Bottom line: with the landscape only growing larger, how can your Shopify store rise to the challenge and compete with top fashion ecommerce sites in 2020? 1. Know your KPIs In October 2019, to help stores compare their marketing and sales performance with others in their industry, our team at Littledata came up with several benchmarks for fashion and beauty stores based on industry data. Check out some of the more interesting KPIs for fashion stores: After surveying 455 stores a few months ago, we found the average conversion rate for Style and fashion was 1.3%. What's a good conversion rate? Anything more than 2.6% would put you in the best 20% of Style and fashion stores we benchmark for conversion rate, and more than 3.6% would put you in the best 10%. What's a not-so-good conversion rate? On the other hand, a conversion rate (both mobile and desktop) less than 0.5% would put you in the worst 20% of style and fashion stores, with less than 0.2% placing you among the worst-performing stores. How do you compare? If your store has a conversion rate between 0.5% and 2.6%, then your store is average compared with this benchmark. With less than 0.2%, your fashion store is certainly underperforming. 2. Optimize your store for conversions To give your store a better chance at converting visitors, have you tried: more attractive product displays improving the checkout process ensuring your product pages load and respond quickly Thankfully, tools like Enhanced Ecommerce tracking in Google Analytics can help you identify where your potential blockers lie. But even before getting too deep in the data, it's important to look at the basics — are there areas for quick wins and easy improvements? [subscribe] Let's take a look at 3 areas: Navigation OROS is a terrific example of simple, clean navigation that makes it easy for shoppers to find what they're looking for. As you can see, OROS's main sidebar menu is organized by apparel type.  Product pages They also nail it with their product pages, with pricing and reviews front and center, plus prominent descriptions and features listed below. Shopping experience Buck Mason creates a seamless shopping experience, with simple filters and a "quick add" feature where shoppers don't even have to be on a product page to add an item to cart. If you like an item, you can simply select a size from the image and it adds it to cart. Features like this create an enjoyable experience for shoppers, which helps boost retention and encourages repeat purchases. 3. Create a smooth checkout process More often than not, customer checkouts serve as a "checkpoint" for stores in terms of measuring shopping experience. If your cart abandonment rate is low and your checkout completion rate is high, it's fair to assume your CRO efforts are succeeding. However, many stores find themselves performing below par. Luckily, there are a number of helpful tools to smoothen your checkout process and give yourself the best possible chance for completing the highest number of purchases. First, Littledata's Google Analytics app fixes tracking automatically for Shopify stores. Your customers won't be the the only ones checking out with confidence — with the app, you can track shopper behavior and ecommerce events with accuracy and ease. Shopify apps like CartHook also help the checkout and post-checkout process run smoothly for shoppers. With customizable one-page checkouts and post-purchase upsells you can set up with one click, tools like CartHook can help maximize your conversion rate at the end of the funnel. [tip]Littledata's advanced Google Analytics connection for CartHook helps you accurately track every sale, refund and checkout step in your Shopify store.[/tip] What if you sell by subscription? CRO (conversion rate optimization) for subscription stores works similarly, in that on-page optimizations are where you'll get the most ROI. Where subscription CRO differs is how you measure conversions. Crucial metrics for subscription stores include: churn rate (the rate at which your customers drop their subscription) AOV (average order value per subscription box, etc.) CLV/LTV (customer lifetime value, which requires a different type of calculation) Tools like Littledata's ReCharge connection help you not only optimize conversions, but accurately track them. Are you drawing more new subscribers? Are you retaining your current ones? Are you convincing subscribers "on the hinge" to stay on for an extra month? [tip]Get accurate tracking for repeat orders with the ultimate Shopify ReCharge guide.[/tip] Shoot for repeat customers Box of Style, a Shopify customer and user of the Littledata ReCharge connection, is a popular fashion & beauty brand that uses a unique subscription system. They offer boxes with exclusive seasonal clothing styles for women, which are delivered to your door four times per year. Subscribers can choose a "pay as you go option" in order to pay quarterly, or they can pre-pay for one year: Just below their add to cart button, the company has added a "what's inside" section to their product pages, giving shoppers a glimpse of what they're getting: The brand's modern web design, simple navigation and transparency give shoppers every opportunity to subscribe to a box. Like many subscription brands, the company offers the option to save money per box by pre-paying or paying annually. 4. Get Shopify reporting you can trust Unfortunately, Shopify tracking within the Shopify analytics platform is not the most reliable system for merchants. And while Google Analytics' robust, free platform is widely used and filled with helpful features, data traveling from Shopify checkouts to your GA account is a broken system. Thankfully, we built a better way. With Littledata's Google Analytics app for Shopify stores, the tracking is fixed automatically for your store, from marketing attribution (including connections for Facebook Ads, Google Ads, affiliate marketing, etc.) to buying behavior. With fixed tracking and accurate reporting, you're free to focus on what you do best – promoting and selling your products to fashion aficionados online!

Finding the right tools for your ecommerce business can be a daunting task. Luckily, Shopify’s app store provides easy access to hundreds of tools (including enterprise level analytics tools) for Shopify Plus stores. While manny of these tools are designed to make life easier for store owners, not all Shopify apps are created equal. Some stand above the rest. Below are 3 top apps for Shopify Plus, with consideration to different marketing and sales goals. Refersion Refersion is “advanced affiliate marketing made simple.”  In other words, Refersion helps stores manage, track, and grow branded promotions and a strong affiliate network. The popular Shopify app is also known for offering Plus stores full setup support and help “every step of the way.” They offer webinars, comprehensive guides, API documentation and community support to help Plus stores launch, manage and grow a profitable affiliate program (or multiple programs for multi store businesses).  Pricing starts at $89/mo, but they offer a 14-day free trial. Quick benefits Track any digital sale your affiliate refers Automate commissions (with unlimited commission structures) to save time Improve affiliate relationships with a personalized affiliate portal and an analytics performance dashboard Enquire Enquire is a popular new Shopify app that offers post purchase surveys for customers.  Based on data that the fastest way to customer feedback is on the order confirmation page, Enquire has built a twofold solution — customer surveys for marketing attribution data, and post purchase surveys directly following the checkout page.  Enquire also helps Shopify Plus stores marry their survey responses with existing data, including referral source and UTMs. Pricing begins at $10/mo, but they offer a 14-day free trial. Quick benefits Gain deeper insights into your marketing channel distribution Simple survey builder with responsive design and high response rates (60%+) Simple integrations for popular Shopify apps like ReCharge, Klaviyo and Shopify Flow Littledata Ecommerce analytics are broken, so we built a better way. That’s the line that started it all at Littledata, our one-of-a-kind tracking solution for Shopify Plus businesses.  Littledata’s smart analytics Shopify app connects your Shopify store with Google Analytics to automatically fix your tracking across the board, from marketing channels to buying behavior. The app also provides a seamless connection between your Shopify site, Google Analytics and popular Shopify apps platforms such as:  Segment to use Shopify as a Segment source (often in addition to Google Analytics) ReCharge for managing subscription ecommerce and tracking recurring revenue CartHook to capture every sale, refund and checkout Facebook Ads and Google Ads for accurate marketing attribution [tip]Now, with a revamped ReCharge connection — ReCharge v2 — you can track subscription lifecycle events with ease![/tip] For Shopify stores that sell in multiple countries or currencies, Littledata offers tiered enterprise plans including include personal support from a Google Analytics expert, a dedicated account manager and custom setup and reporting.  Pricing begins at $59/mo for a Standard plan, but we offer a 14-day free trial. Quick benefits With complete Shopify tracking (and when your data is automatically fixed), you’re able to make better decisions for your store Your Shopify data is 100% accurate within 24 hours — don’t wait months for data you can trust Free & frequent data audits, plus a powerful ecommerce benchmarking tool to identify areas for improvement [subscribe heading="Try the Littledata Shopify App free" background_color="green" button_text="Try it free" button_link="https://apps.shopify.com/littledata"]

Historically, early-through-late December is one of the biggest sales seasons of the year for ecommerce businesses. We recently took a look at some of the more popular ecommerce metrics and created 20+ benchmarks specifically tailored to the current sales season. With our Benchmark your site tool, compare your site's engagement and conversion metrics with over 10,000 other websites this holiday season. [note]Want to know where you store stands during Black Friday Cyber Monday weekend? Check out our top 9 benchmarks to track during BFCM.[/note] To give insight on your product and digital marketing, we gathered the data from Google Analytics from different industry sectors.  So why did we create the benchmarks? Let's take a quick look at last year's holiday sales. Holiday ecommerce sales in 2018 For ease's sake, let's define the holiday shopping period from November through the end of December. Last year, Digital Commerce 360 estimated shoppers spent $122.0 billion with online stores — a massive 17.4% jump from 2017. They also estimated total ecommerce sales grew ~5.6% over the same period, according to their holiday 2018 estimates report. From the same report, ecommerce represented nearly 17% of all holiday spending, up from 15.2% in 2017. Explaining the numbers Over the past decade as online shopping has become more of a preference for consumers (especially when it comes to gift-giving), shoppers have browsed more sites for gift ideas, deals, discounts and more. Shoppers are exercising their options (and taking advantage of stiff seasonal competition between stores), which often leads to increased spending volume across multiple stores — though this may cause stores to see a drop in average order value (AOV)  per customer. Of course, stores tend to also increase their digital marketing spend during hot sales periods and peak shopping seasons, which leads to more online sales. What about this December? This past weekend alone (Black Friday Cyber Monday), Shopify reported record-breaking global sales numbers ~$2.9 billion. On the Shopify network alone — which now boasts over 1 million merchants — merchants across 175+ countries sold $2.9+ billion, up from last year’s $1.8+ billion. While the holiday shopping period (which is underway) does not necessarily stack up to BFCM weekend by sheer sales alone, it's a terrific chance for companies to finish out the year strong or get rid of extra inventory from BFCM. Since December will yield massive sales figures to round out 2019, it's crucial to track the metrics that matter to your store. If you don't know where you stand among the stores you compete with, what's the point? That's why we created a free ebook to help you stack up: Top 5 ecommerce benchmarks to track during the holidays. [subscribe heading="Download the top 5 benchmarks free" background_color="green" button_text="get the ebook" button_link="https://www.littledata.io/app/top-5-holiday-benchmarks"]