One hundred days till Christmas.
You can decide whether that feels far off or right around the corner. Either way, we are heading into double digits on this countdown to Christmas Day. And what better time than now to look at a few holiday shopping predictions?
According to a recent EMARKETER forecast, half of holiday shoppers plan to start shopping before Thanksgiving. In fact, as of June 2024, at least 16 percent have already started. Coincidentally — or maybe not — this year’s Thanksgiving date (November 28) is as late as it can ever be on the calendar, which means fewer days to shop between the Black Friday frenzy and December 25. While it’s unclear whether this is pushing more consumers to shop earlier this year, the pre-Thanksgiving shoppers may help boost overall sales to make up for a shorter traditional gift buying season.
In general, the holiday shopping outlook is favorable. EMARKETER also predicts that total U.S. retail sales in November and December 2024 will increase by 4.8 percent YoY — or a full percentage point higher than the actual YoY increase for 2023 holiday sales. Even if the prediction is true, much of the boost in sales will likely be online. Ecommerce growth in November and December is expected to increase twice the overall rate, at 9.5 percent.
Major credit bureau Experian also weighed in with 2024 holiday shopping insights, noting several trends from 2023 that are expected to continue trending:
- More mobile shoppers
- Early shoppers seeking deals
- Earlier holiday promotions
- Popularity of flexible payment options like “buy now / pay later” (BNPL)
- Increasingly omnichannel shopper journey
- More sales driven by paid search
READ MORE: Mobile Shopping to Dominate Online Sales This Holiday Season
IMMEDIATE ACTION STEPS FOR RETAILERS
Even with 100 shopping days till Christmas (at the time this was posted), Thanksgiving and Black Friday are barely two months away and retailers need to be ready now. If you don’t feel ready, here are a few practical steps you can take to optimize your holiday strategy for maximum sales potential.
FINALIZE YOUR Q4 PROMOTIONAL CALENDAR AND MARKETING PLAN
While no one can truly predict what the holidays will bring and having the ability to pivot can be helpful, going into this season with an informed plan is important. And it’s certainly not too early to start targeting holiday shoppers now — at the end of Q3 — with paid search campaigns to drive awareness online and on social media and with pre-holiday flash sales to delight the deal-motivated crowd.
PROMOTE ANY PAYMENT PLAN OPTIONS YOU OFFER
If you don’t already offer alternative payment plans, now is the time to consider options like BNPL or progressive leasing.
But if you do already offer financing options, don’t assume your customers know. Train your sales associates to talk about financing. Include it in calls-to-action on your website, on digital signage in your store and in your advertising.
Speaking of ads…
TEST PAID ADS ON GOOGLE AND SOCIAL MEDIA
As the statistics show, digital advertising is key to reaching a large percentage of shoppers around the holidays — and any time of year. Many shoppers who prefer to purchase in store still begin their search online. By targeting keywords that relate to your products, you can ensure that people searching in your community will see your ads in their search results. Facebook ads can also achieve similar results by targeting demographics and interests within a specific radius.
OPTIMIZE YOUR WEBSITE FOR MOBILE SHOPPING
If your website is hard to use when viewed on a mobile device, you could be missing out on a large portion of online purchases this holiday season. In general, mobile users are five times more likely to stop what they’re doing if a website isn’t optimized for their device. Yikes!
Not sure how to make your website mobile-friendly? Reach out to our OneShop team today.
