Black Friday: Seller tips to drive more sales

When thinking about the most popular days for online shopping throughout the year, one may assume Cyber Monday takes the top spot. But a trend shift from 2021 reveals that Black Friday sales actually exceeded those from Cyber Monday.¹ With the highly anticipated shopping event just around the corner, eBay sellers should take note of these key consumer insights.

As 2022 comes to a close, online shopping continues to grow in popularity in comparison to in-store shopping. An outstanding 92% of eBay shoppers plan to do most of their holiday purchasing online, which is a large jump up from last year’s only 55%.² The overall convenience and accessibility of online shopping sways more people to make their purchases digitally versus in a physical retail store.

Valuable consumer insights for the holiday season

With so many eager buyers visiting eBay during the holiday season, Black Friday proves to be very popular for securing holiday-themed items and gifts, with top searched keywords including Christmas decorations and consumer electronics.

Every minute on eBay during Black Friday 2021, online shoppers purchased³:

• Over 20 Action Figures
• Nearly 30 DVD’s and Blu-Ray discs
• Nearly 5 LEGO® Sets & Packs
• Nearly 15 Men’s T-Shirts
• Approximately 20 Ornaments 
• Nearly 10 Vinyl Records
• Approximately 20 Women’s Tops

The top keywords searched on Black Friday 2021 were⁴:

• Apple watch series 6
• Christmas decorations
• Gucci
• Hot wheels 
• iPhone 12 pro max
• Milwaukee
• Nintendo switch
• Nike
• Pokémon 
• Xbox series x

Shoppers were open to exploring multiple different brands when shopping on Black Friday, with an average of 5 brands viewed per shopper session, up 66% compared to the rest of the year.⁵ This means shoppers are more likely to venture into different or new brands rather than narrowing on a single option.

Tips to get more eyes on your listings

Good deals are proven to drive sales, with 81% of surveyed shoppers keeping deals in mind when making purchases.² As Black Friday is a shopping event known for its deals and markdowns, consider giving extra value to shoppers with discounted rates, flash promotions, or free shipping. Black Friday shoppers enter a shopping session with the intention to make a purchase, so providing an extra incentive to buy a product can increase chances of your products landing in shopping carts. 

A large contribution to sales on Black Friday are Millennials, who were the biggest online spenders on Black Friday in 2021.⁶ A whopping 87% of surveyed Millennials revealed they plan to do most of their holiday gift purchasing digitally this year.² With the largest adult demographic making up a sizable percentage of online shoppers, it’s critical to understand their spending habits and interests. Discover in-depth insights about Millennials and Gen Z in our resource here.

Another way to increase sales is through the use of Promoted Listings Advanced. When shopping on eBay, shoppers reported it’s likely they will decide to purchase a sponsored item at the top of their search results. More than half (63%) of online shoppers said they are likely to purchase a promoted item during this year’s holiday season.²

The Promoted Listings portfolio is helping sellers drive more traffic to their listings and attract the attention of value-driven digital shoppers looking to make a purchase. And this goes beyond the holiday season, for promoted listings prove valuable for increasing visibility and growing your business before, during, and following the winter months. 

To utilize the benefits of Promoted Listings, simply select the campaign type that is right for your business and launch a campaign right here.  For more insights into online shopper activity this holiday season, download our 2022 eBay Ads Holiday Guide here.