Salesforce cited a jump for ecommerce sales at the beginning of November in the retail activity it tracks, setting the stage for what it predicts will be $311 billion in global sales — with $75 billion in the U.S. alone — during the period it refers to as Cyber Week.
The cloud software and ecommerce platform provider defines Cyber Week as the period running from the Tuesday before Thanksgiving (Nov. 26 this year) through Cyber Monday (which is on Dec. 2). Among other developments, Salesforce predicted that in 2024, global sales will continue to grow year over year, with mobile orders, discounts and artificial intelligence playing significant roles.
In North America, 76 of the top 2000 online retailers use Salesforce’s ecommerce platform, Digital Commerce 360 data shows. In 2023, those 76 online retailers combined for more than $136.077 billion in web sales.
Early indicators for Cyber Week sales
Salesforce analysts observed a promising first week of November for ecommerce sales specifically. Though online sales were down 1% year over year for the period of Oct. 1 through Nov. 14, the first week of November went against the grain with an 8% rise in online sales over the same week in 2023. During that same week, the company saw discounts peak “at an average rate of 20%,” marking a 17% increase year over year.
Over the past seven weeks, Salesforce identified the categories experiencing the highest growth as makeup (up 10% year over year), active footwear (up 9%) and general handbags and luggage (up 8%).
“While there was a slow start to shopping in October, November is kicking off with enthusiasm,” said Caila Schwartz, director of consumer insights and strategy at Salesforce.
As the holidays approach, Salesforce shared that its own survey results showed that 45% of global consumers were waiting to make purchases until Cyber Week begins on Nov. 26, potentially waiting for better deals.
Salesforce’s Cyber Week predictions
Looking ahead to Cyber Week in light of recent activity, Salesforce’s report made the following predictions:
- Orders influenced by artificial intelligence will make up 19% share of all Cyber Week orders, worth $61 billion in global sales.
- Total Cyber Week sales will reach $311 billion worldwide and $75 billion in the U.S.
- Average discounts globally will reach 28% globally and 30% for the U.S.
- Cyber Week sales will grow 5% year over year in 2024 and account for 23% of total holiday-season sales for 2024.
Salesforce’s optimism for the role of AI in Cyber Week sales comes at the end of a year when it debuted its new Agentforce features for retailers. Those features include autonomous agents and other tools for areas such as personalized service, customer loyalty and AI-generated marketing content.
“Agents have the potential to transform the holiday season by helping retailers provide personalized, timely, and efficient service to shoppers when they need it most,” said Michael Affronti, senior vice president and general manager of Commerce Cloud.
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