7 takeaways from Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2021

The trends: Consumers spent $10.7 billion on Cyber Monday, 1.4% less than in 2020 but still making it the year’s biggest online shopping day. Here are top trends to watch this holiday season with some takeaways below the graphic.

The big takeaway:

• Consumers are looking for deals and spacing out their purchases—often shopping early. Retailers offering relevant promotions stand to win.
• With stockouts becoming more common, mastering supply chains has become a competitive advantage and a way to add value to the customer experience.
• Holiday marketing should be a mix of the tried and true—including email and social media—and adopting new techniques such as SMS.
• Brands and retailers offering alternative payment methods (buy now, pay later) and delivery options (buy online, pick up in store) are being rewarded with incremental sales, a factor especially important in the final days of the shopping season.