
peak holiday season




Holiday Retail Sales +8.5%, Ecommerce +11%, Gladdening Hearts
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.


Cyber Monday Online Sales Dip 1.4%
Like its holiday twin Black Friday, Cyber Monday in the U.S. saw ecommerce sales reverse course for the first time in memory, according to Adobe Digital Insights, dropping 1.4% from 2020. Consumers en masse have heeded warnings about stock-outs on digital shelves amid supply chain-fueled inventory shortages by shopping earlier.


Holiday Shopping Uncertainty Leads to Ecommerce Innovation
With the anticipation of lower foot traffic in stores coupled with inventory concerns, prioritizing your ecommerce channel from a planning perspective, even at the intentional detriment of having lower stock levels in stores, may save sales during this peak holiday shopping period. And omnichannel is no longer an option.

Ahead of Cyber Weekend, Some Thoughts and Numbers
Like lots of things, Cyber Weekend ain’t what it used to be, with a lot of air let out of the balloon. Major retailers vie to outdo each other by launching Black Friday deals ahead of the starting gun. Black Friday deals at Target, Best Buy and Amazon all launched last week, with Walmart joining today. Here’s an outlook and some thoughts.
