Algolia Powers 12 Billion Searches with E-Commerce Customers on Cyber Weekend, a 5% Increase YoY Despite National Decrease in Online Spending

Overall online retail searches increased by 5.4% during Cyber Weekend 2021 according to Algolia’s retail customer data

SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Algolia, the leading API Platform for Search & Discovery, today reported year-over-year (YoY) online consumer search results from Black Friday through Cyber Monday increased 5% to 12.4 Billion (from 11.7 Billion in the previous year). Algolia’s partner, Shopify, saw record-breaking search operations across 4,000+ Shopify shops on Black Friday alone with a 72% YoY increase across Shopify shops since 2020.

“While consumers did not complete online purchases during Cyber Weekend in 2021 at the record-rate they did in 2020, the increase of in-store shopping and online searches showcases the importance of multi-channel marketing strategies to convert online searchers to in-store shoppers,” said Bernadette Nixon, Chief Executive Officer of Algolia.

Anonymized search data from Algolia’s top retail customers, from Black Friday through Cyber Monday 2020 vs. 2021, provides insights into changing consumer shopping behaviors. The apparel & fashion industry, for example, saw a 58% increase in searches showing retailers that online shopping habits created during the pandemic are here to stay. On the other hand, searches for cosmetics decreased by 30%, showing a preference to shop for more personalized goods in-store where consumers are able to test products before purchasing.

The following industries saw increases in online search volume YoY:

  • 79% increase in luxury goods & jewelry
  • 58% increase in apparel & fashion
  • 51% increase in leisure, travel & tourism
  • 19% increase in consumer goods
  • 4% increase in consumer electronics
  • 2% increase in health, wellness & fitness

The following industries saw decreases in online search volume YoY:

  • 30% decrease in cosmetics
  • 12% decrease in wine & spirits

Marketers can learn from consumers’ BlackFriday/Cyber Monday Weekend behaviors. For example, according to a recent survey of 1,000 U.S. adults conducted by Dynata, more than half (52%) of respondents noted that they use a retailer’s online cart as a way to bookmark items as they search other sites; when looking at Millennials and Gen Z, these numbers jump up to 63% and 60% respectively.

“As we near the holidays, last-minute shoppers will rely on products and services they can purchase or pick up quickly,” added Nixon. “Leveraging your e-commerce site to attract in-store activity through hyper localization of search – where retailers display in-stock products available for pick up at the nearest physical store – will be a key differentiator for retailers. This method of shopping allows consumers to quickly secure gifts without the frustration of shipping delays or going to the store only to find the product they’re searching for out-of-stock.”

For tips on how to optimize online search experiences for consumers this holiday season, Algolia published How Composable Commerce can boost customer spending during Black Friday and Cyber Week. For more information, visit algolia.com.

About Algolia

Algolia provides an API platform for dynamic experiences that enable organizations to predict intent and deliver results. Algolia achieves this with an API-first approach that allows developers and business teams to surface relevant content when wanted — satisfying the demand for instant gratification — and building and optimizing online experiences that enhance online engagement, increase conversion rates, and enrich lifetime value to generate profitable growth. More than 11,000 companies including Under Armour, Lacoste, Birchbox, Stripe, Slack, Medium, and Zendesk rely on Algolia to manage over 1.5 trillion search queries a year. Algolia is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in New York, Atlanta, Paris, London, and Bucharest. To learn more, visit www.algolia.com.

Contacts

Hannah Riffle
PAN Communications for Algolia
[email protected]

Author Information

As a detail-oriented researcher, Sherril is expert at discovering, gathering and compiling industry and market data to create clear, actionable market and competitive intelligence. With deep experience in market analysis and segmentation she is a consummate collaborator with strong communication skills adept at supporting and forming relationships with cross-functional teams in all levels of organizations.

Sherril holds a Master of Business Administration in Marketing from University of Colorado, Boulder and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Rutgers University.

Latest Insights:
How Genesys and AWS Are Redefining AI-Driven Customer Engagement
July 24, 2026
Article
Article

How Genesys and AWS Are Redefining AI-Driven Customer Engagement

Keith Kirkpatrick, Vice President & Research Director, Enterprise Software & Di at Futurum, Genesys Cloud's expanded AWS partnership leverages agentic AI to transform enterprise customer engagement and enable autonomous interactions at scale....
So This Is How AIs Attack- Observations From the OpenAI & Hugging Face Incident
July 24, 2026
Article
Article

So This Is How AIs Attack: Observations From the OpenAI & Hugging Face Incident

Fernando Montenegro and Mitch Ashley, VPs at Futurum, read the OpenAI and Hugging Face agentic incident as a live test of enterprise readiness to detect and contain AI agents that go off-goal...
Nokia Q2 FY 2026 Optical Strength Positions Nokia for the AI Buildout
July 24, 2026
Article
Article

Nokia Q2 FY 2026: Optical Strength Positions Nokia for the AI Buildout

Futurum Research analyzes Nokia’s Q2 FY 2026 earnings, focusing on AI and cloud order strength, optical and IP demand, AI-RAN timing, and supply constraints....
Texas Instruments Q2 FY 2026 Earnings Climb on Broad-based Analog Growth
July 24, 2026
Article
Article

Texas Instruments Q2 FY 2026 Earnings Climb on Broad-based Analog Growth

Brendan Burke, Research Director at Futurum, reviews Texas Instruments' Q2 FY 2026 earnings, the broad industrial recovery, doubling data center revenue, and automotive re-acceleration....
Latest Research:
Redefining Creative Workflows in the AI Era
July 21, 2026

Redefining Creative Workflows in the AI Era

In Redefining Creative Workflows in the AI Era, completed in partnership with Adobe, Futurum Research examines how organizations are moving beyond isolated AI productivity gains toward unified creative platforms that...
The Governance Gap Why Scaling AI Requires More Than Monitoring
July 15, 2026

The Governance Gap: Why Scaling AI Requires More Than Monitoring

In our latest market brieft, The Governance Gap: Why Scaling AI Requires More Than Monitoring, completed in partnership with IBM, Futurum Research examines why AI governance must evolve from periodic...
The Rise of the Super Agent: How Agentic AI Is Reshaping the Enterprise
July 13, 2026
Research
Research

The Rise of the Super Agent: How Agentic AI Is Reshaping the Enterprise

In our latest Market Brief, The Rise of the Super Agent: How Agentic AI Is Reshaping the Enterprise, completed in partnership with Lenovo, Futurum Research examines how autonomous AI systems...

Book a Demo

Welcome

The vision behind everything in Futurum’s Custom Research practice is this: research should show you what is happening, what comes next, and what to do about it. It should be personal to each audience, easy for people to grasp, and structured so LLMs can reason over it accurately. And it should be fast and turnkey; you want answers now, not another project to carry for quarters.

Whether you are defining business, channel, or go-to-market strategy; evaluating vendors or justifying ROI; or commissioning research to fill an emerging market need, we have your back, with a program that answers your questions with the objectivity and credibility to drive real decisions.

To do it, we bring unmatched data to bear: Futurum research, surveys, and market projections; validated market feeds; ETR’s 15 years of insight from 10,000 technology decision-makers; G2’s buyer and user data; and what our analysts hear every day. Add leading primary collection, from AI-moderated voice interviews to surveys and analyst-led interviews, all turnkey, and every project comes out credible, nuanced, and actionable.

And we don’t just drop the results in your lap. For internal work, we provide analyst-led sessions, interactive dashboards, and a range of formats. For market-facing work, Futurum delivers turnkey activation and amplification that actually gets seen, by people and by LLMs, through our media and share of voice. This is research that moves decisions and markets.

We will meet you wherever you are, from a fast-turn brief to a multi-year program, and shape the work to your goals, timeline, and budget. The right program for your moment.

If any of this is useful, I would love to talk.

Benjamin Brown, VP Custom Research, Futurum Research

Benjamin Brown

VP, Custom Research · The Futurum Group

Newsletter Sign-up Form

Get important insights straight to your inbox, receive first looks at eBooks, exclusive event invitations, custom content, and more. We promise not to spam you or sell your name to anyone. You can always unsubscribe at any time.

All fields are required






Thank you, we received your request, a member of our team will be in contact with you.