Infobip Forecasts Growth in Online Sales this Black Friday

Infobip forecasts more than $10 billion in online sales in the US this Black Friday based on predicted messaging volumes. The company expects SMS interactions on its platform on Black Friday to increase by 25% this year, up from 1.3 billion in 2023 to nearly 1.7 billion.

Following the market movement and consumers’ shopping behavior, the company forecasts Black Friday online sales across the US to increase from $9.8 billion in 2023 to $10.5 billion in November. Infobip forecasts a 7% increase in Black Friday online sales in 2024, following a similar increase from 2022 to 2023 when sales grew from $9.1 billion to $9.8 billion. As the largest SMS provider in the US and one of the main SMS vendors with a global traffic offering, the company expects global SMS interactions on its platform on Black Friday to be 120% higher than a normal day in November.

In Europe, based on survey data, Infobip forecasts that total spending for Black Friday and Cyber Monday will reach €7.425 billion, with Black Friday contributing €4.3 billion and Cyber Monday accounting for €3.125 billion. Infobip also predicts while both the US and Europe show a trend toward more cautious spending, the US is likely to see a higher volume of big-ticket purchases, with 14% of US survey respondents saying they are willing to spend more than $1,000 on Black Friday, compared to only 4 to 8% of respondents in Europe.

Infobip has also identified that the volume of messages is directly correlated to overall market sales during Black Friday & Cyber Monday. According to the company’s latest global messaging trends report, of 473 billion messaging interactions, 137% came from mobile application messaging, whether for marketing, support, or commerce purposes. The firm also expects rich conversational communications channels to increase significantly this year. Infobip predicts global RCS interactions to grow 7.5 times this year. The company suggests that WhatsApp interactions worldwide will grow by nearly two-thirds.

“Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping events are no longer just about one weekend. Instead, our data shows they are starting earlier and extending further. We now see a ‘shopping month’ as deals are spread across November. Retailers and eCommerce firms hope to attract cost-conscious consumers waiting for the best deals and discounts, driven by economic impacts which makes customers seek better pricing and offers. We predict that rich messaging – Rich Communication Services (RCS) – will emerge as an essential channel for shoppers following its adoption by Apple. We expect retailers to focus on hyper-personalization to drive a more conversational customer experience and boost sales,” said Ivica Ostojić, Chief Business Officer at Infobip.