Have you seen our BFCM Consumer Trends Report 2023? We just can’t get enough! Even though this massive report is chock-full of valuable data for your Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) shopping, we also found some fascinating industry-specific insights.

For this post, we focused on five industries:

1. Fashion & apparel
2. Beauty & cosmetics
3. Home goods
4. Health & wellness
5. Food & beverage

Let’s unpack the data to help you with your BFCM planning.‍

Fashion & apparel: What’s hot and what’s not?

You know what’s in style this BFCM season? Insightful consumer data tailored for the fashion & apparel industry. Understanding the trends can make all the difference in your red-hot BFCM sales and marketing strategies.

Let’s dive into fashion & apparel insights pulled from the BFCM Consumer Trends Report.

1. Advertising sentiment and channel effectiveness

Social media has long been a driver of the fashion & apparel industry, but it looks like the winds are shifting. When asked where shoppers hear about sales from their favorite brands, email was still the top—but social significantly dropped. 

The drop in social media was more prevalent among fashion & apparel buyers, as they reported relying less on Facebook (down 6 points), Instagram (down 10 points), and TikTok (down 7 points) to hear about new sales than they did the year before.

Social media may not be the place to capture and convert because your consumers’ feed is oversaturated. Email marketing feels more intentional to consume content for top customers. Our advice? Keep social as an on-brand content home to showcase your merchandise and UGC, and leverage email to educate on sales (especially in your subject lines).

2. Great website (and checkout) expectations

Fashion shoppers aren’t immune to first impressions—and have little patience for bad web design. Much like the overall cohort, 9 in 10 fashion respondents said they would likely leave a website if it's poorly designed. That includes 2 in 5 who are highly likely to leave.

When they do make it to checkout, there still might be a few roadblocks before committing to the sale.

The #1 reason fashion & apparel shoppers abandon carts when online shopping is shipping costs at 70%. Following behind was product cost (maybe the deals weren’t as good as they seemed?) and slow checkouts. 

3. App-tastic apparel

We had to ask—do fashion & apparel shoppers plan on using mobile apps to do their BFCM sale sleuthing? It’s a resounding “yes!” with 70% of survey respondents saying they plan to do online holiday shopping through mobile shopping apps.

Surprisingly, Millennials and Gen X are leading the charge, with 72% and 70% respectively. Gen Z falls slightly behind, with 69% planning on apping it up.

So, what makes mobile shopping apps appealing to BFCM shoppers? Fast and convenient checkout topped the list for all the industries we surveyed. For the fashion & apparel industry, 72% say they like it the most, while only 70% of the overall cohort said the same. Given that 45% of fashion buyers will abandon their cart due to slow checkout, this makes a lot of sense. Brands like Princess Polly and True Classic lean on the app to personalize the customer experience and take any friction out of the equation. From a push notification, it only a few taps for a customer to make their next purchase.

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Beauty and Cosmetics: Highlighting the shimmering data

For those in the beauty and cosmetics industry, understanding the evolving consumer preferences is crucial. As we prepare for the busiest sales season, reliable data becomes our best primer.

Now let’s take a look at the data from the beauty and cosmetics shoppers so you can glam up your BFCM strategies. 

1. Where beauty and cosmetics shoppers go to buy

The beauty industry has embraced online shopping, and shoppers are fully on board. This BFCM, 46% of beauty consumers plan to shop both online and in-store (up from 40% last year). What’s more, 24% plan to use a phone app, and most who say they’ll shop online only will use phone apps and browsers rather than computers.

2. Snapping up those shimmering deals

With beauty shoppers going to mobile websites and apps more frequently this shopping season, you’ll need to up your game to keep them engaged and nudge them toward checkout—and shoppers have high standards. Innovative ecommerce brands are prioritizing a top-of-the-line customer experience to make a memorable brand impression and keep customers coming back for more.

The stakes are high to stand out and convert. Beauty shoppers are also slightly more likely to leave your online store if the mobile website is slow or poorly designed. 45% said they were highly likely to leave, and 45% said they were somewhat likely.

Remember, every second counts. In fact, studies show that a slow website can reduce conversions, while even a 0.1-second improvement in site speeds can result in a 10.1% increase in conversions.

The good news? Beauty shoppers were more likely to report that they made a purchase directly from a push notification than the overall average, with 41% saying they had compared to 38% overall. 

3. App-exclusive access

Beauty consumers are significantly more likely to enjoy mobile apps because of the exclusive deals, with 53% choosing that over the general cohort’s 46%. They also slightly preferred:

• Convenient access (56% vs. 50%)
• User-friendly shopping experience (52% vs. 49%)
• Personalization (42% vs. 39%)

Home goods: In season shopping trends

You know what's making homes cozier this BFCM season? In-depth consumer data crafted just for the home goods sector. Knowing what's on the home enthusiast's wishlist can set the stage for a standout BFCM sales and marketing campaign.

Let's explore the home goods preferences unearthed in our BFCM Consumer Trends Report survey.

1. Home shopping habits

How are home goods shoppers searching for and buying in 2023?

Typically,  48% of home goods shoppers shop both online and in-store, and they’re rarely platform-exclusive. When asked how they’re doing their holiday shopping this year, all three platform options (on mobile shopping apps, on phone browser, on a laptop or desktop computer) were chosen by well over half for each age group.

Shoppers are tech-savvy when it comes to home improvement. They want their purchases to align with their style, budgets and values. So, as a home goods brand, personalization and an omnichannel strategy are critical. As you craft your omnichannel strategies, make sure the sales and messaging all work together since your customers likely don’t stick with a single channel.

2. The power of advertising

Home goods shoppers still find traditional media outlets to motivate them to make a purchase, with general online ads (69%), TV (67%), and print (63%) taking the top three spots. 

Yet, when it came down to making a purchase, they were slightly more likely to do so from a push notification. Our overall numbers for purchases from push notifications was 38%, while 43% of home goods shoppers said the same. Shoppers who opt-in for push are opting in for the best deals. For BFCM 2023, shoppers are looking for the best deals and are ready to spend, and home goods shoppers use push notifications to stay in the loop to ultimately buy.

3. How to welcome online shoppers

Home goods buyers were slightly less likely to abandon their online shopping cart because of shipping costs at 67% compared to 69% overall. This tracks since people typically make larger purchases with higher order values in the industry.

However, they were more concerned with whether their payment type was accepted and confusing websites (21% vs. 18%, respectively). 

It might be that the home goods industry is slightly behind on its digital transformation than other industries, but the margins are too small to make any conclusive argument. Big purchases can be intimidating for customers, so just remember to make it as simple and easy as possible for shoppers to give you their money!

Some ways to get rid of those checkout jitters? Offer flexible payment options like Buy Now Pay Later, low-to-free deliveries, and smooth checkouts with Apple Pay and Shop Pay.

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Vital stats: Unpacking health & wellness consumer behaviors

Consumer packaged goods (CPG) are a world of their own—one that revolves around a solid retention strategy. Subscription is an extreme advantage for CPG at 14.5% of revenue, and a driver of BFCM success comes from returning customers at 44% of revenue. 

Want to get in the heads of your health & wellness shoppers? Flex those muscles this BFCM with these tidbits pulled from our BFCM Consumer Trends Report.

1. How health & wellness consumers shop

In contrast to home goods, we’d hypothesize that health & wellness is a far less tactile shopping experience, and the numbers reflect it. Health & wellness consumers are pretty even when it comes to shopping online and in-store or shopping using their mobile phones exclusively. 

Around 2 in 5 survey respondents (42%) said they shop online and in-store, while 43% chose a mobile app or browser. 

2. Ear to the ground: How health & wellness shoppers hear about sales

Health & wellness shoppers are more likely to hear about sales from email marketing (67%) than survey respondents overall (63%). Mobile app push notifications are also slightly higher at 24% compared to 21% overall.

Interestingly, TV ads, Facebook, and Instagram all saw significant drops from 2022. Make a note to divert some paid social ad and TV spending toward more effective (and often more efficient) advertising methods this year.

3. Health & wellness shoppers purchase more directly from ads

When it comes to actually making purchases, health & wellness shoppers are more likely to report making them directly from ads in past BFCMs. This includes purchasing directly from marketing messages, push notifications, and SMS text messages.

Compared to general survey results, health & wellness were more likely to make a purchase during past BFCMs via:

• Push notifications: 43% vs. 38%
• SMS text messages: 31% vs. 26%

While the overall numbers are similar to last year’s, it’s telling that health & wellness shoppers make these direct purchases more frequently. It could be that they’re more amenable to advertising overall or that they’re more likely to make impulse purchases based on steep discounts. Check out our BFCM Paid Ads Deep Dive to create a dynamic omnichannel ad strategy based on consumer behavior.

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Finding the perfect mix for the food & beverage industry

What are BFCM shoppers craving this season? Similar to the health & wellness CPG industry, food and beverage shoppers can vary from last-minute impulse shoppers, deal hunters, and window shoppers to VIPs. 

See what’s cooking in the world of food and drink over the BFCM shopping weekend.

1. Scrumptious holiday food shopping habits

Around 3 out of 4 people plan on using mobile shopping apps and their phone’s browsers to make DTC food & drink purchases over the holidays this year. While online shopping decreases with age, all platforms are used by at least half of survey respondents in each generation (yes, even Baby Boomers!).

2. Social media isn’t getting the word out

For the most part, food & drink buyers hear about sales the same way that the overall survey reported, with one exception. They saw higher year-over-year drops in social media.

On Facebook, food & drink buyers dropped 12 percentage points year-over-year compared to the 8 percentage point across all industries overall. Instagram dropped 13 points for this specific industry and 10 points overall. Finally, TikTok dropped 6 points for this specific industry and 5 points overall with shoppers. 

Since consumers aren’t hearing about sales on social media from their favorite food & beverage brands, look to other forms of advertising to get the word out. Like the overall cohort, email and online ads are proving successful for sale awareness. Consider every channel as an opportunity to educate and include vital information in the customer journey. 

3. Buying from tantalizing ads

Like health & wellness shoppers, food & beverage buyers are more likely to have made BFCM purchases directly from marketing messages and push notifications than overall survey respondents

Marketing messages and push notifications were the stand-out conversion successes for CPG products.

• Marketing messages: 40% vs. 36%
• Push notifications: 43% vs. 38%

Purchases from SMS text messages were roughly the same, with 27% of food & drink shoppers reporting having made a purchase compared to 26% of the overall survey respondents.

Get more insights in the full report

No matter the industry, brands need to adapt to change. Lucky for you, the 2023 BFCM Trends Report reveals data-backed proof of how people are shopping this year—and how your ecommerce strategy can maximize revenue.

Have a mobile app and want strategies to market your app? Look no further, and check out our Ultimate BFCM App Marketing Guide to get all the goods this season.

Dive deeper into the BFCM shopping maze! Grab your copy of the report and uncover all the hidden consumer trend gems. Scope out the report.