2015 Verizon Retail Index Gives Insights Into Broadband, Mobile Holiday Traffic

By Christine Kern, contributing writer

The Verizon Retail Index has been tracking broadband and mobile shopping patterns, and found that consumers were saving their holiday shopping for the weekend following Cyber Monday, posting a  healthy shopping weekend for both online and mobile retailers.

On December 4, the Index predicted that retailers would see “strong engagement” across all channels last weekend. The predictions were not wrong. “As anticipated, it was a healthy shopping weekend for retailers both online and via mobile,” said Michele Dupré, group vice president of retail, hospitality and distribution for Verizon Enterprise Solutions, “though this time last year was a little stronger. It’s possible some consumers hit the ‘pause’ button to recover from Thanksgiving weekend and Cyber Week shopping frenzy.”

Dupré stated that the index findings clearly demonstrate that online and mobile promotions are being effective in driving consumer engagement, a trend that she expects to see continue as Christmas draws closer.

The Verizon Retail Index also found that broadband traffic attributed to e-commerce on December 5 and December 6 (Saturday and Sunday of Cyber Week) spiked 11 and 14 percentage points respectively over average daily traffic volumes.  These numbers fall slightly below last year’s figures.

Mobile traffic also increased heading into the weekend, marking 5 and 6 percentage point increases, respectively, above daily traffic volumes on December 4 (Friday) and December 5 (Saturday). Peak volume reached a level of 14 percent above average daily figures on both weekend days.

These Cyber Week figures follow a somewhat sluggish Cyber Monday. “Following a flurry of online shopping activity over the weekend when consumers had more time to shop, Cyber Monday appears to have been emblematic of a more typical Monday,” Dupré explained.

To read more, see Maria Montenegro’s article at Verizon Enterprise Solutions online.