Thanksgiving Day is not only an important day to reunite families in the US, but also a benchmark in the economy of the country, that for many companies will showcase the success, or not, of their products during the holiday season. Next November 27^th would be a record day for online sales in US. According to Adobe System study, the increase of an approximate 27%, will represent a hit of $1.35 billion. Furthermore, predictions say the best online deals will be in this day with an average discounts of 24%, versus 20% for the whole week.

Mobile devices impact

The US mobile online market is expected to grow to new dimensions, with smartphone penetration as high as 90% and over 40% of tablets. Actually, at least 50% of internet traffic is coming from mobile devices.

According to OECD, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, almost the 50% of population used an e-commerce company last year, in comparison of the 30% in 2007. The statistics also show that e-commerce penetration is higher with youngsters, due to the percentage of adult people between 25 – 44 years old who bought online reached 63.6% in 2013. The average of citizens worldwide who used mobile devices to buy items was the 9%, although the numbers in the top three countries rose up to 19%. On the other hand, more than 32% of users have changed their mind about a purchase after researching the same product via mobile, while onsite on the store. In addition, 67% of online shoppers will call a business directly for any purchase greater than $100.

With these numbers we are able to say that this 2014 Thanksgiving Day would be the greatest shopping day of the year via mobile devices, with 31% of digital sales through smartphones or tablets. During 2013, 21% of shoppers bought using their smartphone, while in 2010 it was only the 3.4%. This growth can be affected, in part, for the decision of some companies to close on the holiday for letting their employers “enjoy the holiday with family and friends”.

This sales season continues with Black Friday. In recent years, a large number of retailers in the US have opened earlier, as well as offered promotional sales. According to Adobe Systems study, Black Friday will become the fastest growing online sales day of the year, with sales increase 28% and reach $2.48 billion. Despite Black Friday was originated in United States, it has transcended borders, even in countries where Thanksgiving is not celebrated such as Germany, Spain or Austria. From these countries there are not clear statistics, due to its recent implementation. However, the shopping trough mobile devices trend has also extended to Spain, as an e-commerce company explained, the 50% of Spaniards will look for items via smartphones or tablets during Black Friday.

Although e-commerce has grown hugely, there is still alive the Cyber Monday, a marketing term for the Monday after Thanksgiving. The origins of this term are in 2005 with the aim to persuade people to shop online. In spite of the numbers which show the increase of e-commerce during Black Friday, Cyber Monday will hit $2.6 billion in United States this year, rising 15%. However, the study says that in 2015, Black Friday will eclipse Cyber Monday due to the e-commerce tend to do sales on Friday as well.

There is no doubt that Thanksgiving season has an enormous impact in the American economy. A large number of US families are reunited with their family and friends during Thanksgiving Day; and, typically, the following day they are going shopping. Things are changing year after year because Internet, more people are opting to shop online. For that reason, E-commerce has an authentic litmus test during Thanksgiving Holiday.