Salesforce, the global artificial intelligence-based customer relationship management system (AI CRM), has released data for Cyber Week 2023, analyzing the purchases of over 1.5 billion consumers on the Salesforce Customer 360 platform Global sales saw an increase of 6% compared to the previous year, reaching the remarkable figure of 298 billion dollars.
Cyber Monday achieves the highest sales
Focusing on the Italian scenario, the best performing day of Cyber Week was Cyber Monday, November 27, with a growth in online sales of 10% compared to the previous year.
As regards orders placed, the peak occurred on Wednesday 22 November, with an increase of 17% compared to 2022. Over the course of the entire week, online traffic in Italy grew by 4%, and Italians are confirmed as mobile-first users, with 80% of traffic coming from mobile devices on Cyber Monday, compared to 75% globally.
The progress of orders
Looking at Cyber Week 2023 globally, growth was primarily driven by order volume, seeing an increase in consumer demand for the first time in over five quarters. Despite the initial promotions, more patient consumers obtained attractive offers for Cyber Week, leading to a strong performance over the period.
Digital sales during Cyber Week reached $298 billion globally, an increase of 6% compared to the previous year, while traffic increased by 5%. Attractive discounts contributed to notable sales growth on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, up 8% and 5%, respectively, globally.
The role of Artificial Intelligence…
Artificial intelligence has played a key role, influencing $51 billion worth of online sales globally. Consumers favored mobile purchases, accounting for 79% of e-commerce traffic during Cyber Week, up from 76% in 2022. Marketing campaigns leveraged alternative channels, with a 37% increase in messages sent via push notifications, SMS and streaming services.
Discounts, increased to meet latent demand, averaged 27% globally, with sectors such as makeup (38%) and general apparel (33%) offering the best promotions. Greater transparency on discounts has reduced the rate of returns to 5%, after the unprecedented peak last Cyber Week.
Single-brand retailers saw twice as much online growth as multi-brand retailers, up 8% versus 5%. Purchases with alternative payment options, such as Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), increased 8% year over year.
… and that of automation
Automation was a key driver during Cyber Week, with chatbot messages growing by 79% globally. Salesforce, by ensuring 100% uptime, has helped deliver fast, personalized digital experiences across Commerce Cloud, Marketing Cloud and Service Cloud.
In summary, the analysis highlighted the critical role of artificial intelligence, mobility and targeted discounts in Cyber Week 2023, highlighting a strong consumer reaction and increasing adoption of digital strategies by retailers.