Online Spending Expected To Be Up 14% From Last Year
RETAIL FORECAST
Consumers will shun brick-and-mortar stores this holiday season, with more than 95% opting to buy half or more gifts online, according to a study from Leanplum. Younger Americans (Millennials and Gen Zs) are leading the online shopping trend, and more than 16 percent say they will only holiday shop online.
This is not good news for Rockland County retailers that are banking on continued consumer confidence. The Palisades Center, Shops at Nanuet and the Route 59 corridor have felt the impact of department store and big box closures over the past two years.
Holiday shopping this year is slated to be a record-breaking online season.
Digital spending during November and December is expected to reach $143.7 billion, up 14.1% from a year ago, according to a study by Adobe Analytics, which tracks transactions for 80 of the top 100 U.S. internet retailers including Walmart and Amazon.
Cyber Monday sales are expected to hit $9.4 billion, up nearly 19% from last year, Adobe said. Black Friday sales online are expected to be $7.5 billion, up 20.3%. Thanksgiving Day sales on the internet are forecast to surge 19.5%, to $4.4 billion, it said.
SURVEY RESULTS
Eighty percent of Leanplum’s survey respondents reported they shop on their mobile phones.
Three-quarters of shoppers said they find it helpful to receive emails from retailers regarding deals and promotions. In fact, 74% of those surveyed said they were “excited” to receive notifications from retailers about offers/sales. After receiving a notification from a brand about a deal, almost 70% said they would check out the offer and probably purchase the item.
However, 75 percent of survey respondents said generic messages from retailers “annoy or bother them.”
Gone are the days of coupon-clipping, Instead consumers prefer to receive discounts and deals from brands via email. In fact, two-thirds of survey respondents reported they open emails from brands they believe contain product deals or sales.
FAVORITE SHOPPING APPS
When asked about favorite shopping apps, Amazon dominated with 82% of those surveyed. Walmart was a very distant second, with 5% of the vote, followed by second-hand marketplaces (eBay/Poshmark/ThredUp) at 4% and Target at 3%.
TOP COMMUNICATING BRANDS
Consumers had opinions about how brands communicate with them as well. Sweden’s H&M beat out other brands with 19% of the vote. Urban Outfitters (12%), Asos (4%), Zara (4%) and Brandy Melville (2%) rounded out the top five best brands at communicating with consumers.
Three-quarters of shoppers find it helpful to receive emails from retailers regarding deals and promotions. Interestingly, 74 percent of those surveyed said they were “excited” to receive notifications from retailers about offers/sales. After receiving a notification from a brand about a deal, almost 70 percent said they would check out the offer and probably purchase the item.
However, 75 percent of respondents said generic messages from retailers annoy or bother them. Consumers have a preference for when and how they would like to receive messages from retailers. It is imperative retailers communicate with their consumers regularly regarding topics that are useful to them and in the form that they are most comfortable engaging with, to ensure consumer satisfaction and retention.
OTHER SURVEY FINDINGS:
- Nearly half (46%) of respondents said that they’ve bought a product because it was shown in an app or sent in an email.
- More than half (52%) of Millennials and Gen Zs will shop on Cyber Monday and Black Friday compared to just over one-third of Gen Xers and Baby Boomers.
- About two-thirds of respondents who make $150,000 or more annually plan to do most of their holiday shopping online this year.