The COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly had a major effect on digital marketing trends this year. Its full impact has not yet been seen, but businesses have been forced to adapt to changing circumstances on a weekly or even daily basis.
At SEMrush, we have collected and analyzed recent data from over 2,000 of the most visited eCommerce websites globally across a range of categories including Fashion, Electronics, and Health & Beauty to determine what the new face of digital marketing looks like. The analysis revealed that changes in the eCommerce landscape and consumer purchasing patterns are already here:
Monthly searches for “buy online” have doubled in the first month of the pandemic: vietnam phone number sample there were more than 27,500 searches in March 2020 compared to 14,800 in February 2020 across all categories. Looking at the annual trend between June 2019 and June 2020, total searches increased by 50%;
Global searches for food delivery services increased by an average of 180%; and
The average year-over-year growth in e-commerce site traffic in the first half of 2020 was around 30%.
Searches "Buy online" June 2020
These are just some of the changes that have occurred in recent months. Let’s take a closer look at our research and data on this year’s eCommerce digital marketing trends to see how we can help businesses navigate the new landscape.
eCommerce Traffic Trends: Growth, Growth, Growth
eCommerce sales have grown at an unprecedented rate. In 2020, eMarketer forecasts total sales of $3.914 trillion in the eCommerce sector.
Due to the coronavirus outbreak, consumer interest in online shopping has increased for everything from everyday necessities to more serious purchases like laptops (online searches for “laptops” have grown 123% year-over-year in the spring). Offline shopping, of course, has a long way to go before it returns to normal.
eCommerce traffic trends
SEMrush data collected through the Traffic Analytics tool shows an average global monthly eCommerce traffic across all industries of around 17 billion. Typically, peaks are expected in November and December as consumers flock to online stores for promotions like Black Friday and the winter holidays, but the recent pandemic has brought about some unexpected changes to the eCommerce landscape.
Traffic spikes on eCommerce websites this spring have been higher than the traditional spikes we usually see in November and December. Surprisingly, traffic continued to grow in June 2020: