The 2019 shopping season was record-breaking for e-commerce and retail sales. Sales figures were buoyed by record online spending and helped the 2019 season to beat 2018's sales by 3%, driving many companies to experience monumental success.
Figures from MasterCard (MA ) in its SpendingPulse report showed growth in retail sales over the 2018 shopping season by 3.4%. According to MasterCard, online sales accounted for 15% of all sales during the holiday season (November 1 to December 24), as well as 15.4% of Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. The online sales figures are an all-time high, according to Mastercard. The catalyst for e-commerce's record-breaking sales was the shortened holiday shopping season.
"E-commerce sales hit a record high this year with more people doing their holiday shopping online," Steve Sadove, a senior advisor for MasterCard, said. "Due to a later than usual Thanksgiving holiday, we saw retailers offering omnichannel sales earlier in the season, meeting consumers' demand for the best deals across all channels and devices."
Overall, e-commerce storefronts such as specialty retailers and, predictably, Amazon (AMZN ) took the holiday season by storm by offering monumental discounts and one-day shipping. Amazon's offering of one-day shipping to Prime members, in addition to site-wide discounts, helped boost its sales figures and increase its already considerable competitive edge in the e-commerce market. Amazon's investments into expanding its rapid shipping have been rather expensive and have weighed on the company's overall profits, but the payoff cannot be understated for the online retailer given holiday sales figures.
Target (TGT ) was one of many retailers that benefited from a substantial online presence this holiday season. Overall, Target has significantly expanded its e-commerce storefront to adapt to changing market trends, which helps the retail giant remain competitive with the all-online Amazon. In fact, it was Target's physical storefronts that helped bolster its sales figures. Target was one of the many retailers that invested in one-day shipping to compete with Amazon, utilizing its 1,900 physical locations to fulfill online orders, including offering in-store fulfillment through "Drive Up," which allows customers to retrieve items from Target stores and have items delivered directly to their car.
Walmart (WMT ) followed a similar strategy as well, leveraging its physical locations to bolster online sales by offering rapid shipping and in-store pickup to online customers. Walmart entered the holiday season already riding high on a considerable 41% growth in online sales and benefitted immensely from deep discounts during the holiday season as it sought to take advantage of the increased traffic to its online storefront.
Overall, the monumental sales figures this holiday season could be attributed to the rapid modernization of the retail market. More retailers realize the importance of both an online presence and rapid fulfillment, as evident in the success of one-day shipping and same-day pickup.
