Are You Getting Your 3 Percent Increase This Christmas?

The folks at MarketingCharts.com released a whole bunch of data this month that says that most retailers can expect at least a 3% increase in sales this holiday season compared to last year. 

There are a whole bunch of qualifications to that statement and you can read the report here, but for now, I’ll share some of the items that caught my eye.

• Almost half – 46.1% – of all holiday shopping will be conducted online, says the NRF,  Free shipping/shipping promotions will be an important factor for close to half (47%) of holiday shoppers’ decisions on where to shop.
• About two-thirds of consumers expect to use mobile devices while shopping in-store.
• Buying online and picking up in-store appears to be a key trend this holiday season (as identified in the NRF survey), and an Accenture study suggests that two-thirds of consumers who engage in this activity will likely buy additional items during their store visit.
• The quality of the website experience is as important as the physical store experience to shoppers this year, with about half considering each of these when choosing a retailer, according to a study from MarketLive. The survey also finds enthusiasm for personalized product recommendations and mobile alerts.
• Gift cards remain a popular gift across studies, with the Brand Keys study being very buoyant on this front, indicating that virtually all (96% of) holiday shoppers will purchase one this year.

So as a local retailer, what are you going to do to make sure you get your piece of the pie, (or fruitcake) this year?   Want help?  Contact me.