While the holidays have long been the busiest time of year for many retailers, the 2020 holiday season saw retailers navigating an unprecedented surge in ecommerce as the pandemic drives more people to shop online.
New Yahoo Small Business data, based on average sales per store of our merchant customers, shows small business retailers saw a 26.6% increase in ecommerce during the 2020 holiday season (October 1 through December 31, 2020) compared to 2019. Year-on-year, the breakdown per month shows that small business retailers saw an average:
- 25.5% increase in October 2020 (vs. 2019)
- 34.6% increase in November 2020 (vs. 2019)
- 19.7% increase in December 2020 (vs. 2019)
The pandemic has greatly accelerated the shift to ecommerce and shows no sign of slowing. While 2020 presented significant challenges for small businesses everywhere, it also has created new opportunities to tap into increased demand for online shopping. Small businesses that were able to pivot to selling online during the 2020 holiday shopping period saw increased sales as a result.
One example is carandtruckremotes.com, a Georgia-based online merchant specializing in vehicle keys, keyless remotes and accessories. “Like many online retailers, we saw sales slow at the start of the pandemic, but by the summer, as more shoppers went online, we saw sales almost double from early pandemic levels. Since then, we’ve seen demand consistently above pre-pandemic levels, and this continued over the holidays,” said Mariusz Sobanski, the owner behind carandtruckremotes.com. “We’ve seen several spikes in sales over recent months, with a record sales day where we sold six times our daily average. Through it all, the flexibility of the Yahoo Small Business e-commerce platform has helped us keep up with demand and handle increasing business from our customers.”
The pandemic has forever changed how consumers purchase products and how brands must interact with their customers to succeed. As we look ahead to 2021, making the shift to ecommerce will become increasingly critical to small business retailers’ survival. The good news is that with simplified digital tools and services, it’s never been easier to start selling online today.
At Yahoo Small Business, we’re privileged to partner with many small business merchants to help them navigate the shift to ecommerce, developing and strengthening their online presence, facilitating closer communications with their customers, and successfully pivoting to drive new opportunities for growth.
