Pivotal weekend proves to be the largest on record ever for Tecsys retailers

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Tecsys Inc. (TSX: TCS), an industry-leading supply chain management and omnichannel commerce software company, is pleased to provide global performance metrics for the four-day 2021 Black Friday/Cyber Monday (BFCM) weekend. Despite the softening of the BFCM weekend spike, retailers fulfilling orders with Tecsys’ omnichannel order management platform outperformed last year across two key measures: year-over-year order volume increased by 21% and order revenue increased year-over-year by 32%.

Performance across Tecsys retailers over the BFCM weekend underscores the critical role of omnichannel digital commerce, with 98% of revenue coming from retailers operating more than a single fulfillment channel. Those multi-channel retailers averaged nearly 102,000 orders per brand, far exceeding the 2,400 orders per brand averaged by single-channel retailers, representing a 40x volume of orders for those retailers.

“Retail continues to be fluid, but carries with it one constant; the digitally empowered consumer,” says Guy Courtin, vice president and industry principal for Retail at Tecsys. “This consumer expects more from her relationship with retailers and brands. What COVID has highlighted is that retailers that are unable to leverage their entire fulfillment network to meet her needs are at a competitive disadvantage.”

Within that omnichannel matrix are sharp demand spikes and cyclical transaction volatility that require system functionality to manage peak order ingestion without disruption. As noted by gaming giant Ubisoft’s worldwide IT director, “Our players expect nothing less than a completely smooth and easy buyer journey. It is paramount to ensure retail transactions are processed accurately and quickly, not to mention invisibly to the buyer, so that their user experience is both positive and authentic to the Ubisoft brand.”

“Operational agility and resiliency have become the cornerstones of success for every retailer, supply chain organization and enabling software company,” adds Courtin. “Over the course of the weekend, Tecsys and its retailers set a series of new records, from peak order processing to order ingestion volume, proving that a platform that scales and adapts to a shifting retail ecosystem is a crucial tool for retailers to succeed in the current landscape.”

Black Friday/Cyber Monday by the Numbers

  • Globally, the average BFCM basket was $95 CAD. Canadian consumers spent the most per order at $202 CAD, ahead of S. consumers at $124 CAD per order, and U.K. consumers at $106 CAD per order. Europe ($100 CAD)Middle East and New Zealand (both $94 CAD) round out the highest average shopping carts globally.

  • Footwear and Apparel and Health and Beauty represent the two retail categories with the greatest volume of orders and highest total revenue; however, they hold second and fourth position for average order value at $186 CAD and $122 CAD respectively; edging them out is the Sporting Goods and Outdoor Equipment retail category, posting an average shopping cart value of $213 CAD, with Home and Garden climbing up slightly from last year to $146 CAD.

  • Multinational retailers averaged $31 million CAD each in revenue over the weekend, represented by an average 286,000 orders each over the same period; this is compared with an average $8.5 million CAD each across all retailers. Overall, Tecsys customers saw a 32% increase in year-over-year revenue per brand on the Tecsys platform.

  • Peak order volume was reached on Friday, November 26 at 5 PM UTC. This peak represented a modest 4% increase over last year’s peak order volume. The most popular time to shop over BFCM weekend was 4 PM UTC.

Courtin continues, “While we see several similarities in order volumes year over year, consumers are tending to spend more per order in the Home and Garden category on average as compared to last year; this trend could be attributed to consumers rebounding from supply chain issues in the lumber industry. Meanwhile, similar to last year, we are seeing relatively large basket sizes in the Sporting Goods and Outdoor Equipment category, which may be a sign that consumers are more willing to purchase big-ticket items online that have historically been purchased in store, perhaps reflecting the increasing ease of the omnichannel experience, including faster fulfillment and more frictionless returns.”