Knowing when to promote products can be a challenge for ecommerce brands. Targeting customers at the right time on the right platform and knowing the best days of the week to sell online can help you attract more customers and drive sales.
In this post, we offer ecommerce data that show the best times to promote your products online, but it’s important to use this data as general guidelines. Ultimately as you navigate the vast ecommerce landscape, you’ll need to leverage your own ecommerce data to strategize effective promotions.
Many people around the world enjoy shopping online. According to a report from Statista, over 2 billion people shopped online for goods or services in 2020. In the same year, worldwide online sales exceeded $4.2 trillion USD. Statista forecasts that 24.5% of total global retail sales will be dominated by ecommerce by 2025.
For sellers, these online shopping trends mean more revenue. In 2021, Amazon Marketplace saw net sales jump 22% to $470 billion (from $386 billion in 2020), despite global supply chain issues. Based on this ecommerce data, it’s clear that these sales volumes will increase in the future.
When customers only had brick-and-mortar stores to choose from, it was fairly easy to predict peak shopping times: weekends and evenings, when customers were off work. However, since shopping has become more accessible online, these patterns have shifted. Instead of shopping solely on weekends and evenings, people can shop at any time.
Ecommerce data from WBX Commerce shows that Sundays and Mondays remain the best days of the week for online sales. On average, WBX Commerce brands see 20% more traffic on Sundays and Mondays. Comparatively, WBX Commerce brands see an average conversion rate 6% higher than the lowest two days of the week for sales.
Why these days? Many people spend time on Fridays and Saturdays focusing on leisurely pursuits and entertainment. When Sunday and Monday roll around, people start shopping for what they need during the next week. And many people like to shop on Monday simply as a way to cope with the start of a new workweek.
When Sunday and Monday roll around, people start shopping for what they need during the next week.
In addition to tailoring promotions to the best-selling days and times, brands should target the most popular devices consumers are using. In particular, smartphones contribute to a significant volume of ecommerce sales.
Pew Research states that 85% of Americans own a smartphone. And data from web design company OuterBox shows that more than half of all ecommerce traffic comes from mobile devices and 80% of in-store customers have used a mobile device to read product reviews, compare prices, or find alternative store locations.
In a recent shift, mobile shoppers have officially outpaced desktop buyers. What was once a frustrating process that involved confirming orders on a small screen has transformed into a seamless buying experience with in-app buy buttons and functions like Apple Pay and Google Pay. A report from Statista shows that 58% of U.S. online retail shares are attributed to smartphone users, as of Q4 2021.
Mobile shoppers have officially outpaced desktop buyers.
When it comes to promotions, you may want to target returning customers at different times. Returning customers are familiar with your brand and more likely to make a purchase. The probability of selling to an existing customer is between 60% and 70%. On the other hand, the probability of converting a prospective customer is about 13%. 
To increase conversions, you may want to target newer customers on the days they are most likely to shop online. Since returning customers are more likely to purchase from your brand, you can target them on other days. However, your ecommerce data may vary.
For returning customers, you can also offer unique promotional deals. For example, returning customers could get 30% off during a sale, whereas new customers could get 10% off. You’re rewarding your return customers while giving new customers a good reason to buy from you again.
As a side note, product pricing is a whole new challenge related to running promotions. If you want to know how to price a product on Amazon, we have you covered in this WBX Commerce blog.
The probability of converting a prospective customer is about 13%.
While this article references general trends, your customers may behave differently. The secret here is to look at your own data. Using historical sales data, you can identify which days of the week and times of day your customers like to shop and the types of products they are most inclined to purchase.
At WBX Commerce, we offer data visualization and business intelligence tools to help brands easily access and make the best use of ecommerce data. WBX Commerce’s proprietary ecommerce technology can offer brands valuable marketplace insights from data points across channels all in one platform. With a clear marketplace picture, you can unravel the customer journey and path to purchase. With this data, you can optimize marketing strategies accordingly to match customer preferences.
And unlike other ecommerce platforms, we integrate marketplace management data with fulfillment data, presenting it together so that sales can inform fulfillment and vice versa. This vertical integration can enable both sides of your business to work together as a cohesive, well-oiled operation. Once you know how your customers shop, you can pivot your supply chain quickly to meet their needs.
Now that you know about the best days of the week to sell online, why not test our advice? Contact us today to speak with one of our ecommerce marketplace experts.
