Depending on who you believe, domestic holiday retail sales were up 6% to 8%, which should cause retailers to do backflips, considering the state of the economy. But the rate of ecommerce growth was slower, reversing a trend from past years, with online sales up 3.5%, as the stores became the story.
There was good news at the bottom of all those seasonal carts, both physical and digital, as holiday retail sales jumped a healthy 8.5% vs. 2020, while ecommerce sales gained 11% off a monster year, according to data from MasterCard SpendingPulse. Ecommerce represented 21% of sales, up from 20.6% in 2020 and 14.6% in 2019.
Adobe Digital Insights is predicting U.S. holiday spending online will rise 10% over 2020, hitting a record $207 billion, with global spending to reach $910 billion, an 11% increase, while calling for a decreased emphasis on traditionally major days during Cyber Weekend as demand pulls forward.
With the pandemic lingering and most of us unsure of what “normal” looks like anymore, it’s a good time to consider what’s on tap for 2021 holiday shopping. Some themes remain from 2020 while a few new ones have emerged. Our best description of what to expect this time around? …let’s call it Unprecedented 2.0.
Heading in the home stretch of the holiday peak season in an extraordinary year, and past the cutoffs for Christmas delivery by ground at major parcel carriers, transit time performance is holding up well even though expected delays reports are popping up. Vaccine delivery and heavy weather are compounding matters.
Records were made to be broken, and the all-time sales day for ecommerce was no exception. Cyber Monday hit a record $10.8B in the U.S., up 15.1% from $9.4B in 2019, making it the largest online shopping day in U.S. history, according to Adobe Analytics. Mobile commerce slipped slightly from Black Friday (37% of the total vs. 40%).
The holiday season is upon us, which is both exciting and overwhelming. There is also the pressure of figuring out how to rise above everyone else’s holiday-themed ads. A well-produced, perfectly timed video ad can elevate your product in memorable ways. Here are 5 principles to focus on when creating your video ads this holiday season.
By now your peak holiday season planning is well underway. If you’re behind schedule, there’s still time to implement improvements but you need to be prudent and not over-commit. Here are 13 critical considerations for improving your peak operations and fulfillment processes.