• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, November 1, 2017

For every incremental $1 sold online in the apparel and accessories category, an additional $2.21 is sold in-store as a result of reading a review, according to data released Wednesday.

With Deloitte predicting holiday sales to reach more than $1 trillion -- and about $111 billion in ecommerce sales -- prompting consumers to participate in ratings and reviews to "visually display their commitment to the brand" will prove that much more critical in the coming season.

Bazaarvoice -- which provides support for more than 5,000 brand and retail websites -- scanned its retailer network to compile data about page-view trends, pre-holiday trending products, peak shopping hours, as well as tips to help businesses plan for the holiday rush.

The company analyzed the data by categories such as apparel & accessories, consumer product goods (CPG), home & garden, toys & games, health & beauty, consumer electronics and pet items.  

Fifty-eight percent of online apparel and accessories shoppers read reviews before making a purchase.

For the CPG category, for every incremental $1 sold online, an additional $3.39 is sold in-store as a result of reading a review, according to the data.

Some 58% of online apparel and accessories shoppers read reviews before purchasing

Not surprisingly, peak page-view traffic times occur on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. These two days have traffic levels that are 2.5 times higher compared with the typical shopping day.

The holidays are especially traffic-heavy across three subcategories in particular: handbags typically increase 4.1 times as much; shoes, 2.5 times; and apparel, 1.9 times as much.

The time for path to purchase fluctuates depending on the category. The average handbag buyer spent five days researching nine products, with one product revisit across three sessions.

Notably, online shopping peaked at 9 a.m. on Black Friday and 8 p.m. on Cyber Monday.