Important Findings from the WooCommerce Survey Conducted in 2024
WooCommerce, the popular e-commerce platform, has recently released the results of its 2024 summer survey, providing valuable insights into how store owners, developers, and partners prepare for the Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) and the holiday shopping rush. The survey results reveal the significant role that BFCM plays in the annual revenue of online merchants, as well as the strategies and tactics they employ to maximize sales during this period.
One of the most notable findings from the survey is that BFCM sales account for a major share of annual revenue for online merchants. Approximately 30%-50% of yearly sales come from the holiday season, with 66% of stores reporting increased sales during this time. For some stores, up to 50% of their annual revenue is generated during BFCM. The survey further breaks down the sales distribution, with 46% of stores seeing up to 30% of their yearly sales during this period, 26% generating over 30% of their annual sales, and 8% surpassing 50% of annual sales during BFCM.
The survey also sheds light on the preparations made by store owners for BFCM. Larger stores with annual revenues of $250K+ are 12% more likely to begin preparations early. In fact, 81% of stores actively plan for BFCM promotions. The survey highlights that 26% of stores start planning 1-4 weeks before BFCM, 27% begin preparations 1-3 months ahead, 13% dedicate 3-6 months to preparation, and 4% start more than 6 months in advance.
When it comes to preparation tactics and strategies, 26% of stores identified increasing inventory as their primary preparation strategy. This was closely followed by marketing, promotions, and website optimization. In terms of marketing channels, 29% of stores found email to be the most effective, followed by organic social media (25%). Other popular channels included paid social (13%), search ads (8%), and content marketing (6%).
Looking ahead to the 2024 holiday season, 34% of stores are adjusting their strategies. The top focuses for these stores are introducing new products (26%), improving marketing efforts (24%), enhancing website performance (16%), starting sales early (10%), offering special discounts (9%), and making changes to customer engagement, social media, and inventory management.
The survey also highlighted the importance of multi-channel sales for online merchants. It was found that 67% of stores sell through multiple channels, including physical locations and online marketplaces. Specifically, 11% of stores sell on Amazon, 8% sell on Etsy, and 6% sell on eBay.
In terms of customer engagement and analytics, the survey revealed that 91% of stores use analytics tools like Google Analytics, WooCommerce Analytics Dashboard, and Meteorik to evaluate campaign performance. Interestingly, despite the busy season, only 89% of stores implement a special refund or return policy.
These findings from the WooCommerce survey provide valuable insights into the strategies and preparations made by online merchants for the BFCM and holiday shopping rush. The survey highlights the significant role that BFCM plays in the annual revenue of stores and the various tactics employed to maximize sales during this period. With the holiday season fast approaching, it is clear that store owners are actively planning and adjusting their strategies to make the most of this lucrative time of year.
