Online Shopping Set to Hit Major Milestones
Black Friday. Cyber Monday. These shopping days are critical for retailers during the holiday season. This year, however, retailers are looking beyond these two days to hold special sales. Online retailer Amazon kicked off Black Friday by announcing that it will be offering deals through December 22. Some retailers started offering promotions as early as September and as late as mid-January. Regardless of where retailers begin their holiday promotions, one thing remains consistent: new holiday shopping trends are on the rise.
Ecommerce Continues to Grow
While the sales period for 2016 has been expanded, other trends for the 2016 holiday shopping season have also emerged. More consumers are turning from brick-and-mortar stores to online and mobile shopping. According to eMarketer, retail sales are expected to increase 3.3 percent during the peak holiday shopping months.
Consumers using their smartphones to shop are expected to climb 43.2 percent, accumulating nearly $115.92 billion in sales. Of the total retail ecommerce sales for the year, mobile shopping will account for roughly 29.1 percent. By 2020, mobile commerce is expected to hit nearly 50 percent.
Consumers Will Shop Across Multiple Devices
Just targeting online shoppers using computers is no longer an option. Consumers are using smartphones, tablets, desktops, and laptops to make purchases, which necessitates cross-device marketing strategies. The sales journey starts with research, usually done on a desktop computer or mobile device, while the purchase itself will be completed in-store or on a desktop computer. The reason for this is that consumers may feel safer purchasing big-ticket items in more traditional ways.
Technology and Toys are On the Rise
Amazon, Wal-Mart, Xbox, PlayStation, and similar companies have announced that technology and toys are the two most popular buys among consumers. According to Forbes and the CTA, consumers shopping for electronics have increased by 3.1 percent compared to last year. The iPhone 7, game consoles, and Virtual Reality products will drive this year’s sales figures. With toys, the new Pokémon games for Nintendo 3DS and Hatchimals are among the top purchases with consumers.
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