NetElixir is here to ensure your 2021 holiday strategy is ready to jingle with our Holiday Readiness Kit. 

Develop Your Holiday E-Commerce Strategy

NetElixir’s Holiday Opportunity and Risk Management Kit will get you in the holiday spirit with the following resources to help guide your planning. 

Holiday Sales E-Commerce Calendar

Since 2008, NetElixir has aggregated and analyzed historical e-commerce data, back-to-school sales, holiday trends, and more to develop our Holiday Sales E-Commerce Calendar. This calendar marks the anticipated online sales volume of crucial days throughout the holiday season to help marketers better adjust their budget and campaign strategy. Learn when to run your most attractive holiday promotions in order to capture customer demand and when to pivot to BOPIS options to keep last-minute customers engaged.

Personalized Holiday Consultations

Once you have your holiday calendar and begin planning your promotions, request a personalized one-on-one consultation with NetElixir’s holiday experts. During your consultation, we’ll review:

• Where you align with industry benchmarks
• How you compare to competitors
• Gap analysis and growth opportunities for your brand
• Shopping behaviors and patterns of your category’s high-value customer
• Holiday readiness best practices and actionable insights

Don’t miss out on valuable insights. Request your customized consultation now for free insights into your brand.

Exclusive Deals on Holiday Solutions

Treat your brand to an early gift with NetElixir’s exclusive Holiday Packs to wrap up your Content, Design, and SEO holiday offerings. Starting at just $500 each, our Holiday Packs help maximize your website conversions and attract and engage new customers by increasing your brand awareness.

Our Content Gift Guides are 700-word blogs that highlight five to eight products or product categories. These gift guides help you build a bigger content basket, spark brand loyalty, and share your brand story. Request your gift guide now to capture the attention of consumers who are already researching holiday gift ideas.

The SEO Holiday Readiness Audit will help ensure your holiday landing pages are fully optimized so shoppers can easily navigate through your best holiday deals. Our SEO experts will also conduct a user experience audit and holiday-specific keyword research for your brand, as well as review up to ten meta descriptions, up to 25 pages for H1s and minor copy editing, and targeted product package Google My Business posts. Get your SEO audit done early so search engine spiders have time to crawl and index your page prior to the holiday shopping rush.

With our Design Services Holiday Pack, we will design branded graphics for display, discovery, social, and Amazon ads so yor brand will look its best. Our Design services also include updates to your company’s Facebook page with customized badges and frames, photo retouching, and avatar and icon creation. All of NetElixir’s design projects come with free A/B testing so you can better understand what makes your customers click.

Learn more about which pack is right for you.

Holiday Readiness Webinars

Want the latest scoop on 2021 holiday shopping predictions, e-commerce insights, and holiday readiness strategies? Join NetElixir’s Holiday Readiness Webinars to learn more about:

• The key online consumer shopping trends that will impact holiday shopping.
• Strategies to keep the new-to-online customers you gained last year engaged with your brand.
• Our predictions for prominent holiday trends.
• Tips to navigate this uncertain season and how to create backup strategies.

Join us on Tuesday, September 21st for our Holiday Predictions Webinar. Later in the season, we’ll recap the successes and learnings of Cyber 5 (the days from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday) and provide actionable insights for a final drive for holiday success.

What Makes the 2021 Holiday Season So Uncertain?

Brands have had an uneven 18 months and are looking forward to the holiday season with optimism as well as some anxiety. The 2021 holiday season may very well qualify as one of the most unpredictable seasons yet. Retailers are optimistic about the season due to pent-up consumer demand, as well as a good balance between personal savings rate and consumption dollars. However, there are still concerns around the delta variant and how different regions could be impacted, which could then affect the e-commerce turnout. There’s a sense of cautious optimism for the 2021 holiday season.

E-Commerce Sales Have Been Sporadic

A strong Q1 (34% Y/Y online sales growth, according to NetElixir’s dataset) led many to forecast an equally strong Q2 in terms of revenue. However, consumers spent more on travel and experiences rather than items during Q2, leading to a decrease in sales. Online sales only grew about 5% Y/Y in Q2 2021. Fashion and beauty Categories have done well in Q2 and the beginning of Q3. However, other categories have either exhibited moderate or no Y/Y growth.

However, as the winter approaches, consumers may revert back to spending their budget on products again, as the weather keeps them from traveling. There are opportunities to have your products tie into experiences with the right packaging and produect description, so be sure to consider how your goods can best be marketed to different groups of consumers.

Back-to-School Sales Are Uneven

Historically, back-to-school sales have been a strong indicator of holiday season trends and demand. The demand spike started later this year (early August), but because this is a unique back-to-school season, we have yet to see the full impact the season will have on holiday sales. Within NetElixir’s dataset, the back-to-school season only yielded about 7% Y/Y growth in online sales.

Early Holiday Season

Did you know that Hanukkah falls during the Cyber 5 weekend this year? A significant portion of shoppers could be looking for deals and gift inspiration before Black Friday even begins, so it’s best to be prepared as early as possible.

According to Google’s research, 80% of consumers expect holiday promotions this year. As such, consumers will be on the lookout for the best deals and will be searching around for products that best fit their needs and budget. Ensure your holiday landing pages and exclusive deals are prominently displayed on your website and consider adding a countdown timer for when the deals expire to drive a sense of urgency in your shoppers.

Another Prime Day?

Last year’s Prime Day sales event, held in October, shifted and accelerated the holiday online shopping season. Amazon could choose to host another Prime Day in October to bolster the lackluster sales from this year’s June event.

Geographic Fluctuations

As the Delta variant of COVID-19 continues to spread, we could see surges in e-commerce demand in cities with higher cases. Brands cannot adopt a uniform approach to their sales outreach; instead, marketing strategies should be sensitive to the different situations in each target region. We are in the process of developing a live tracker that analyzes the correlation between online orders, reported active COVID-19 cases, and state’s vaccination rates to monitor these geographic fluctuations and their impact. 

How NetElixir Can Help Your Holiday Readiness Strategy

NetElixir is here to help you make sense of all the uncertainty so you can succeed this holiday season and beyond. Ensure you have the latest data and trends so your marketing decisions are crystal clear. Browse our resources to develop your holiday strategy and have a back-up plan to remain nimble and agile, all powered by NetElixir’s latest insights.

The post 2021 Holiday Readiness Resources appeared first on NetElixir.

Since 2008, NetElixir’s Retail Intelligence Lab has been aggregating and analyzing the live search-shop-buy data for top holiday retail categories. On Thursday, December 3rd, we will be hosting a live webinar to share the hot-off-the-press results, insights, and trends from the five key retail days of Cyber 5. Join our live webinar to learn the impact of 2020’s Cyber 5 weekend and what our analysis means for the rest of the holiday season.

Cyber 5 of Years Past

The 2019 holiday season was unique in that it held 6 fewer days between Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day, meaning retailers had to sell 20% more online, every day, to match 2018’s revenue. They largely succeeded. The results, insights, and trends of the 2019 Cyber 5, compared to 2018, in terms of eCommerce sales per region were:

• The western area of America grew over 19%.
• The central area of America grew 21%.
• The northern area of America grew 25%.
• The southern area of America grew the most at 28%.

The average order size (AOV) on Black Friday was $120 in 2019. The lowest AOV was on Sunday, at below $80. Additionally, 44% of 2019’s Cyber Monday orders came after 6 PM (local time).

Mobile shopping continued to grow in 2019, as the share of mobile search impressions, as well as orders, experienced a sharp increase during the holiday season. However, on Cyber Monday, more shoppers placed orders through their desktop rather than mobile device, especially between 6 PM and midnight (local time). 

In 2019, Text Ads drove more orders than Shopping Ads at an order ratio average of about 65% Text ads to 35% Shopping ads.

There were more checkout interruptions in 2019 compared to 2018. Exit rates from the checkout page increased marginally compared to 2018 across most categories. This may have been caused by shoppers getting swayed last-minute through more attractive offers from competitors. This year, especially with a higher rate of new-to-online shoppers acquired during the pandemic, ensure your checkout experience and online shopping experience is user-friendly. Display promotions and inventory updates prominently and offer channels for customer support. 

Last year, Thanksgiving Day yielded 13% of the total Cyber 5 online orders, up from 11% in 2018, as shown in the charts below:

VS

Could online sales on Thanksgiving Day exceed 15% of all Cyber 5 orders this year?

Predictions for 2020 Cyber 5

At this year’s Cyber 5: Results. Insights. Trends. webinar, NetElixir experts will go over the same region-wise, daypart, and YoY eCommerce trends and online shopping behavior patterns to see how 2020 holiday sales are progressing. NetElixir forecasted a 45% YoY growth in November and a 20% YoY growth in December for an aggregate 30% YoY growth in online sales. 

Retail Dive, in a survey on Gen Z’s shopping behavior, found that 71% of respondents will be relying on Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals to make the most of their tighter holiday budgets. Additionally, CNBC reported that shoppers are seeking out personalized, thoughtful holiday gifts to feel more connected during the pandemic-influenced holiday season. Homemade, DIY gifts and cooking could be the hallmark gifts this year.

From totaling the eCommerce metrics of the days leading up to Cyber 5 (November 1 – 23, 2020) and comparing them to the same time span in 2019 (November 2 – 25), NetElixir’s Retail Intelligence Lab has so far found:

• Website sessions increased over 25%.
• Orders increased over 20%.
• AOV increased 13%.
• eCommerce Sales increased over 37%.
• The western area of America has seen an 81% increase in revenue growth.

Only time will tell what 2020 Cyber 5 has in store for us. Register now for NetElixir’s annual LIVE Cyber Five 2020 Webinar: Results. Insights. Trends.

The post New Webinar: Cyber 5 Results. Insights. Trends. appeared first on NetElixir.

An early start to the holiday season is crucial during this highly competitive year. As customers are prepared to wait and shop around to score the best deals, some brands aren’t limiting their sales days to just the Cyber 5 weekend. Extended Black Friday promotions create longer campaigns that won’t bog down shipping channels. 

One such company – Deciem – is turning their extended promotions into a knowledge-sharing and customer acquisition tag team during their Knowvember campaign. Along with a continuous discount on all products throughout the month, Deciem is sharing educational content to help customers buy smarter. By providing a chance for consumers to conduct careful research on their beauty products, Deciem is hoping to limit post-holiday returns. Earlier sales can make brands stand out more during this highly competitive season. Modern Retail also reports stores like Target and Kohls are extending their online promotions to minimize in-store traffic. Consider offering mobile-only deals or flash sales to encourage customers to shop through online channels. 

Reinventing Black Friday Shopping

This year, we can’t accommodate Black Friday crowds. Many shoppers will turn to online shopping – and NetElixir forecasts an aggregate 30% in online sales throughout the rest of the year. 

In November, NetElixir anticipates a 45% YoY increase from 2019 and a 20% YoY increase from last year in December. As marketers push early sales and shoppers plan their purchases to avoid shipping delays, November will be a stronger month in terms of eCommerce growth. Retail Dive shares Numerator’s survey that 34% of respondents plan to shop in stores on Black Friday, while 90% plan to shop online.

BOPIS and curbside pickup will be hallmarks this holiday season so ensure your Google My Business account, website, and any ads prominently display your contactless shopping options. People want to feel safe in any shopping excursions they undertake, so brands need to prioritize communicating a message of transparency and security to their customers.

In 2019, NRF reported that Black Friday beat out Cyber Monday as the busiest online shopping day. We can expect high sales on Black Friday again as many of the big retailers will be closed on Thanksgiving day, which may prompt customers to shop from the convenience of their homes – a Deloitte survey found that 64% of consumers will choose to shop from home. Ensure your website is updated with the latest inventory count, shipping information, return policy, and sales so that customers know what to expect from you.

The same Deloitte survey also found that 2020 holiday shoppers plan to treat themselves while they shop and will focus on beverages, food, and clothes. Historically, electronics, home goods, and home appliances sell well during Black Friday.

NetElixir’s Holiday Forecast

For the past 13 years, NetElixir has released an eCommerce calendar to help retailers mark important dates they should consider in their marketing strategy. Some key insights from this year’s calendar includes:

• Weeks of November 22nd and November 29th: will account for the two biggest online shopping weeks of 2020;
• Week of December 6th: most retailers will set a cut-off date for guaranteed holiday shipping (delivery by 12/24);
• Week of December 13th: BOPIS commerce will surge and most retailers will lower their digital marketing spend

Black Friday itself will see a very high YoY increase from last year, upwards of 75%. This trend will continue throughout the Cyber 5 weekend. NetElixir also forecasts that the month of November see a 45% YoY increase in online sales, compared to 2019. 

Download your 2020 Holiday ECommerce Sales Calendar now at https://stage.netelixir.com//holidays/. 

Further Reading

• October 2020 Retail ECommerce YoY Insights
• Building Trust and Sizing People Up  
• 2020 Holiday Season ECommerce Forecast

The post Black Friday Retail Strategies appeared first on NetElixir.

Black Friday deals are looming as retailers extend promotions to capture early shoppers and lessen the strain on last-minute shipping. Keeping track of eCommerce trends and online shopping behaviors will help agile marketers capture an opportunity that comes their way.

We see some of the follow trends for October 2020 compared to October 2019:

• Food and Grocery eCommerce is growing at a rate unseen in a few months. While not hitting early March and April numbers from the start of the coronavirus pandemic, people appear to be preparing early for the holidays through triple digit increase in conversion rates, compared to last year.
• Orders by new shoppers are continually growing Y/Y across retail categories. Ensure a smooth transition for these new shoppers with a frictionless checkout experience. Engage new customers with surveys and on social media to understand their shopping experience with your brand.
• Mobile continues to play an increasingly important role in the online shopping experience. Consider offering mobile only deals to encourage impulse buys. Ensure your website has a mobile first approach to create a user-friendly experience.

The year-over-year changes from October 2019 to October 2020 are as follows:

Food and Grocery Ecommerce Trends

• Website conversions jumped 126%
• Transactions soared 70%.
• Average order value (AOV) rose 4%.
• Percentage of mobile orders rose 41%.
• Orders by new shoppers increased 74%.

Apparel Industry Ecommerce Trends

• Website conversions decreased 31%
• Transactions jumped 91%.
• AOV increased 3%.
• Percentage of mobile orders increased  ust 1%.
• Orders by new shoppers skyrocketed 128%.

Gifting Industry Ecommerce Trends

• Website conversions increased 39%
• Transactions rose 36%.
• AOV increased just 2%.
• Percentage of mobile orders dropped 4%.
• Orders by new shoppers rose 29%.

Home Furnishing Ecommerce Trends

• Website conversions increased 7%
• Transactions skyrocketed 63%.
• AOV dropped 3%.
• Percentage of mobile orders soared 172%.
• Orders by new shoppers jumped 64%.

Pet Supplies Ecommerce Trends

• Website conversions increased 2%
• Transactions increased 34%.
• AOV dropped by 6%.
• Percentage of mobile orders rose 12%.
• Orders by new shoppers jumped 60%.

Tools and Hardware Ecommerce Trends

• Website conversions fell 17%
• Transactions jumped 45%.
• AOV increased just 6%.
• Percentage of mobile orders jumped 29%.
• Orders by new shoppers increased 31%.

For a deeper dive into how Prime Day, Election Day, and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic impacted eCommerce and online shopping behavior, join NetElixir’s latest webinar on the Road to Recovery: Real-Time Data on eCommerce Trends + Updated Holiday Season Forecast. You’ll gain insights into:

• Charting a successful path to recovery, starting with a successful 2020 holiday season
• Latest online shopper behavior and patterns across seven retail categories and actionable insights for your marketing mix
• The updated holiday season forecast for November-December with NetElixir’s 2020 Holiday ECommerce Sales Calendar

During the webinar, we will be releasing our 2020 Holiday eCommerce Sales Calendar, which highlights the key online sales days and underlying forces that may have an impact on sales this year. Register now at https://stage.netelixir.com//webinar/. 

Further Reading into Holiday Insights

• B2B ECommerce Search Marketing Case Study
• Get Results with Progressive Web Apps (PWAs)
• 6 Reasons to Have a Blog for Your Business
• 2020 Holiday Season ECommerce Forecast

The post October 2020 Retail ECommerce YoY Insights appeared first on NetElixir.

NetElixir’s Founder and CEO Udayan Bose will be joined by GovX’s Vice President of Marketing Aaron Pelander to discuss new customer acquisition, the latest eCommerce trends, and fine-tuning the end of the year marketing strategy. 

GovX is the ultimate eCommerce designation for active duty, reserve, and retired members of the U.S. Armed Forces and related government agencies to provide them with extra online savings in return for their brave service to their country. Learn about GovX’s commitment to helping veterans and first responders get the best online deals, especially during the coronavirus pandemic, from our live Q&A with Aaron Pelander.

Pelander has led the marketing team at GovX for the past six years, where he communicates the value of GovX to those who can benefit from it. He works closely with all areas and channels of the GovX business to ensure that the member experience is world-class and rewarding. 

Pelander previously joined NetElixir’s webinar on June 18th, Lessons from Mid-Sized Retailers, where he spoke on his consumers completing purchases more quickly and buying more ‘want’ products rather than strictly essential products. At the onset of the pandemic, Pelander noted that GovX never pulled back on their spending, which helped the brand win more new customers. Join our live Q&A with Pelander on Wednesday to learn how GovX continued to evolve and fine-tune their marketing strategy to engage their new customers and how Q3 compared to his earlier expectations discussed in June.

Real-Time ECommerce Trends

NetElixir’s live webinar presentation will give you latest insights into the following:

• Letting the data dictate direction, as the path to a successful recovery starts with a successful holiday season
• A special insight share that will measure the impact that Election Day had online sales
• Real-time analysis of daily online sales metrics across seven retail categories (Women’s Apparel, Home Decor, Tools & Hardware, Food & Gourmet, Gifting, Pet Supply, and Home Furnishings)
• The continued impact that the coronavirus has had on online shopper behavior, conversion rates, and eCommerce sales
• Significant trends identified across retail categories

Register now for this live webinar.

Understanding the latest trends in how your customers are shopping and searching online will help you meet them at all stages of the purchase journey.

Updated Holiday Forecast for November and December

Receive a complimentary 2020 Holiday ECommerce Sales Calendar with the anticipated biggest online shopping days, shipping cutoff dates, and an analysis of gifting days vs me buy days. Learn the expected Y/Y changes day to day compared to the 2019 holiday shopping season and how the Cyber 5 weekend may turn into Cyber 10. NetElixir forecasts that the aggregate eCommerce sales for November and December 2020 will increase by 30% Y/Y, compared to 2019.

For a more in-depth analysis, join our live webinar next week, on Wednesday, November 11th at 2 PM ET. Register here: https://stage.netelixir.com//webinar/. 

Browse Our Past Webinars:

• Case Study with Cole Parmer: Harness the Power of Customer Data to Make B2B Search Marketing Work
• Pre-Holiday Consumer Trends and Retail Data Insights 
• A Different Holiday: Opportunities and Challenges in a COVID World

The post Live Webinar this Veterans Day appeared first on NetElixir.

Will Prime Day Kickstart the 2020 Holiday Shopping?

The answer is YES.

Amazon has always had an outsized impact on online shopping in the United States. During 2019, Prime Day sales registered an increase of 70%+ from 2018. Also, the impressions continued to grow at 140% for days following Prime Day. Even on Google, the product search impressions saw a 25% increase during Prime Day (with the impressions spiking to 40% during certain day-parts).

Moreover, the other mega retailers like Walmart and Target have announced their online sales events during the same week (Walmart’s Big Save Event starts at 7 pm ET on October 11, while Target’s Deal Days exactly coincide with Prime Day). Online shoppers may find it difficult to miss all these sales events.

After 7 months of pandemic-led shipping delays and product stockouts, shoppers are more likely to do their holiday shopping earlier than prior years. NetElixir believes Prime Day will act as that trigger for the holiday shoppers, thereby kickstarting the longest holiday shopping season ever.

A longer holiday shopping season, coupled with fewer shoppers visiting stores, will drive an explosive growth in online sales in Q4 this year. We estimate eCommerce will account for 25% of all holiday retail sales, up from 16% last holiday season. This amounts to an incremental online sales volume of $50B-$80B compared to the 2019 holidays. 

So, how should the retailers prepare for this mega sales event and ride the wave to kickstart their holiday shopping season?

Recommendations for Online Retailers for Prime Day 2020

• Multi-channel sales will accelerate at a rapid pace. Ensure that your ads are visible on not just Amazon, but also search engines and social media channels.
• Focus on the products that you want to aggressively promote during Prime Day. You may want to think of Lightning Deals and creating a Prime Day Subcategory page.
• Ensure that there is adequate inventory – both for FBA as well as direct fulfillment. Nothing is more painful than losing valuable orders and revenue because you don’t have stock.
• If you are advertising on Amazon, prioritize products that have a higher BUY BOX percentage and go aggressive on Sponsored Ads by opening them up for popular search queries.
• Keep the search and social ad budgets high to tap into the surge in product search volumes. For products sold exclusively from your website, you can run an aggressive search ad campaign highlighting the exclusivity and your Prime Day Offer.
• Prime Day only pricing should be offered to move inventory, especially if there is a lot of remaining stock from Q2 and Q3. Try to activate heavy discounts on any stock that needs to be moved before the end of the year. This data and inventory-clearing will help you plan better for Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals and showcase new products specifically for that time.
• For your Amazon white labelled product: focus on key brand attributes in your ad creatives for brand searches to better help you retain your loyal existing customers. Also, employ retargeting and advance audience targeting (in-market, affinity, and lookalike) to maximize sales opportunities, while showing specific messaging for users across different stages in the purchase funnel.
• Small businesses linked to Amazon should see higher sales this Prime Day due to Amazon’s $10 credit for Small Merchants.

What about if you don’t have an Amazon marketplace? We recommend capturing market share by taking advantage of the surges in search volume. This may not necessarily translate into higher sales, but will boost your traffic as customers comparison shop for truly the best deal. Carefully monitor similar products on Amazon, as unavailability of products during Prime Day can open up opportunities for your products and store to fill the gap. Leverage the exclusivity of your sale and words like “Prime” in your ad copy to entice searchers.

This year’s Prime Day will set the tone for the holiday season; let’s make sure it’s a jingle.

The post Amazon Prime Day 2020 appeared first on NetElixir.

Since February 9th, NetElixir’s Retail Analytics Lab has been analyzing and aggregating ecommerce data across seven retail categories: Apparel, Food and Grocery, Gifting, Home Furnishings, Home Decor, Pet Supplies, and Tools and Hardware. We split our data into sixteen, 14-day periods to track the year over year changes in online shopping behavior as we try to determine the impact that the coronavirus has had on ecommerce sales.

Impact of Coronavirus Pandemic on Ecommerce Trends

As marketers and retailers think about their 2020 holiday season strategy that will shortly be in effect, having access to the latest trends is crucial to optimizing on the fly to capture new customers and opportunities.

McKinsey found that ecommerce in the United States grew 10 years in just a three month span. As of Q1, 2020, ecommerce growth was at 33%, up from 16% in 2019 – an increase that Bose calls “absolutely abnormal.” While we will most likely not seeing growth skyrocket to 33% again for the time being, the percentage of ecommerce sales will never go back to just 16%. Currently, we see ecommerce growth settling at around 22% of total United States retail sales.

Online sales continue to grow at an explosive rate, detailed in the chart below:

The Apparel retail category had a slow start, but with the nice timing of the stimulus checks in mid-April and the anticipation of spring, Apparel’s ecommerce sales picked back up dramatically. Since the middle of April, Apparel’s sales have grown steadily year over year as more and more consumers invested in their wardrobe again.

The Food and Grocery retail category saw tremendous spikes from March to June, but has since calmed down to hold steady at an average of 35-40% year over year growth.

The Home Furnishings retail category is on an explosive growth track since the middle of April and leveraged out around the end of August. 

As the habit of panic buying seemed to calm down around the first week of May and people have adjusted more to the new normal, NetElixir has context to believe that online sales will continue to grow at a rate of 40-50% year over year. Overall, the pace of ecommerce is continually substantial.

With the explosive rate of online growth and high conversion rates, now is the time to invest in ads. CPCs are still trending downwards, evidenced by the chart:

Your marketing dollar can be stretched further as each click costs less and conversions are high. Nimble marketers can gain valuable market share by investing in capturing these new digital shoppers. 

New Online Shoppers

 eMarketer expects 7.4 million new digital buyers in 2020. But where are these buyers coming from? NetElixir’s Retail Analytics Lab isolated where the new shoppers within our select data set are shopping from, detailed below:

For both the Home Furnishings and Tools and Hardware retail categories, we saw the majority of new online shoppers come from the Southern region of America. Understanding where new shoppers hail from could open more markets for retailers to concentrate on this holiday season. 

Mobile is driving more sales than ever before. In 2019, mobile sales accounted for 43% of all sales; in 2020, mobile sales now account for 48% of all sales. Retailers need to focus on ensuring their mobile site is optimized and user friendly, as NetElixir predicts that mobile sales could drive over half of all ecommerce holiday sales. 

2020 Holiday Predictions

1. 23-25% of all retail sales in Q4 will happen online. (Up from 16% in Q4, 2019). 
2. Incremental ECommerce Sales Projection for Q4 in the US (vs. Q4, 2019) is about $50B-$80B.
3. Holiday Shopping will start as early as in October first week. (That’s just 2 weeks away!)
4. Inventory stockouts will pose the biggest challenge this holiday season.
5. There is a possibility that instead of Cyber 5, we have Cyber 10 this year as retailers may stretch out the holiday season to reach more digital buyers and gain more online visibility.
6. Retailers will be lowering their sales promotions and focusing more on tapping into the demand surge by expanding their online visibility.
7. Over 5% of all holiday online revenue will be driven by new online shoppers (those who had not purchased anything online prior to the pandemic).
8. Enterprise and Large Businesses (>$250 MM revenue) will be increasing their digital marketing spend by upwards of 20% year over year to take advantage of the shift from stores to online.
9. Amazon’s share will increase from 43% of the total United States ecommerce to 45% this holiday season. The biggest driver for their holiday growth will be “faster shipping”. Amazon’s Prime Day 2020 will kick off a longer holiday season.
10. Buy Online Pick-up in Store (BOPIS) will be an important driver of ecommerce sales after December 10. BOPIS (includes curbside pickup) revenue will increase year over year by 50%+.

Even More Holiday Insights

What’s your #BiggestHolidayChallenge? Subscribe to NetElixir’s Youtube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/NetElixirInc for weekly video installments as our holiday experts address your biggest holiday challenges. In short, digestible videos, we’ll share the latest data and insights to help guide your holiday season strategy. Tune in starting tomorrow as we answer What will the coronavirus-influenced holiday season look like?

• 2020 Holiday Data: Consumer Trends & Digital Marketing Strategies
• Strategic Views on Planning for Peak 2020 with UPS
• A Different Holiday: Opportunities and Challenges in a Covid World
• September 2020 Update on How the Coronavirus Continues to Impact Retail Ecommerce

The post Pre-Holiday Retail ECommerce Trends appeared first on NetElixir.

Guffey explored how 2020 has delivered significant insights that we can use to better inform our holiday strategies and restructure our future business models. To prepare for the unpredictable holiday season, retailers and marketers should have a Plan A and Plan B in place, to be able to adapt to changes and opportunities that arise.

The COVID customer is constantly changing. The needs of your existing customers have changed and the coronavirus pandemic has caused new needs to emerge, such as a heightened sense of security and transparency. By constantly learning and understanding how new and existing customers evolve, retailers are building out their future success stories. 

Excelling in the new normal relies not only on effectively engaging with customers, but having strong and reliable partnerships to better navigate new demand generation. Guffey explains that the right partners with the right logistic aspects cultivate a last mile opportunity to “create loyalty with customers to drive an experience and to really improve your impact or your current channels.”

We need to adopt a new, critical thinking mindset to continue to overcome the coronavirus pandemic to seize unique opportunities that may arise. 

The Delivery Experience Represents a Market Opportunity for Peak 2020

With less in-person meetings, it may be hard to gauge customers responsiveness; however, Guffey notes that there is still critical importance to the last one miles. Delivery becomes a pivotal component of the customer experience: the customer journey expands from first website visit to receiving their package. Increased touchpoints and understanding digital body language – such as frequency of website visits, social interactions, and time of purchase – become crucial aspects of effectively engaging with and reaching customers. 

Guffey stresses the importance of being as close to the customer as possible. The realignment of fulfillment centers put products closer to the customer. 

UPS leverages their own warehouse space to help businesses be closer to their customers. Guffey explains, “Speed is important; also, reliability is a big component of that, but how do you get closer to the customers to be able to fulfill orders?”

The answer to that question includes ground next day service instead of strict reliance on air travel. By being closer to the customer, retailers can consolidate their supply chains to prioritize value and aim for targeted next-day delivery. Close proximity to your customer base can improve costs as well as customer satisfaction because of quicker deliveries. 

The coronavirus pandemic prompted the rapid growth and maturation of ecommerce.  There are opportunities to tap into the digital acceleration and new customer channels. Leveraging mobile and digital platforms can drive different and unique customer experiences to reach new demographics and cultivate loyalty.

Guffey says, “Producing new market-responsive products has really fast-forwarded to enable new businesses to move to the forefront.”

Opportunities Created by the Coronavirus Pandemic

It is no secret that new customers are buying online for the first time. Guffey discusses new individuals and demographics who are online because they have been forced to shop online. Now, these customers are discovering new brands, new digital experiences and realizing that the online shopping experience is secure and convenient.

But existing customers are also undergoing their own digital transformation. Existing customers are increasing their frequency of online purchases. Guffey says that we are “quickly transitioning to a primary online experience.”

Across the board, online shoppers are discovering the benefits of quality, convenience, and security of the ecommerce world. Retailers and marketers should ensure that their products, business, and ads reflect these tenets to continue to encourage shoppers to their websites. 

Businesses are reinventing themselves to adjust to the new online shopper experience and digital demands. Creative avenues keep the brick-and-mortar store as a critical hallmark of the retail experience, as BOPIS and curbside pickup gain popularity. Logistics becomes not just about moving a product from point a to point b, but also moving information around. By keeping the customer in the loop of shipping expectations, retailers can create a satisfying last mile experience that elevates the entire shopping experience.

The Peak 2020 Holiday Season

Consumers are planning to spend more on essential items, while cutting back on non-essentials buys, detailed below:

However, product demands and inventories are shifting month to month, so this list may look very different come the end of the holiday season. Guffey emphasizes that just because people are planning to spend less on non-essential goods does not mean that demand has dropped for those products. There is still significant growth for non-essential items, but there is a more dramatic rise in essential goods because of the necessities to safely navigate the coronavirus crisis.

By being nimble and continually monitoring changes in consumer behavior and demands, marketers and retailers can quickly respond to the ever-evolving digital landscape. Creating a successful holiday season strategy comes from making a Plan A for what is known and a Plan B for known unknowns.

For the knowns, consider the importance of ecommerce and digitization, last mile capacity challenges, pre-holiday inventory, and agility of manufacturing and supply chains. The holiday season calendar also looks different this year; last year, the peak period was compressed into about 17 days. Peak 2020 will most likely be longer, especially as businesses may run sales earlier to kick off the holiday season sooner to recapture lost sales in Q2. 

Unknown knowns to consider for your Plan B include questions of consumer behavior and if the socially distanced holidays will drive more gift exchanges seen at the onset of the pandemic, what will the consumer outlook be post-election, and what will officially kick off the holiday shopping season? 

 For UPS, peak planning typically starts in January to ensure network reliability and support throughout the year; 2020, however, has upended all known plans. It is important to cultivate a different shopping experience, especially within that last mile.

Key Takeaways

• Businesses that rely on products must be diligent about their supply chains, both inbound and outbound.
• ECommerce demands are creating significant pressures on last mile logistics, which will only worsen during critical peak seasons. Having a main Plan A and backup Plan B will help keep your business nimble.
• The coronavirus pandemic is a digital catalyst, increasing the rate of change and creating new customer demographics that are likely to continue to play a prominent role in the future of retail.
• Joint planning with quality logistics partners will pay significant dividends in the level of preparedness for peak 2020 and beyond. 
• UPS has immense logistics capacity and capability throughout the year and especially during peak seasons to help out small and medium businesses. 

Further Reading on Holiday Insights

• Google’s Digital Insights to Uncover Clues for Q4 Readiness
• Executive Panel Discussion: Holiday Season Insights Learned Over the Course of the Pandemic
• Getting Ready for the New Future of Advertising with Microsoft
• A Different Holiday: Opportunities & Challenges in a Covid World

The post Strategic Views for Peak 2020 with UPS appeared first on NetElixir.

We see some of the follow trends for September 2020 compared to September 2019:

• The Apparel and Home Furnishing retail categories are now experiencing the highest growth for the first half of September 2020, compared to September 2019.
• New customers created a lot of revenue growth early on during the coronavirus pandemic; however, sustaining continually new customer growth can be difficult. This holiday season, however, people are open to trying new online brands so there are still chances for all retail industries to capture new market share.
• The covid customer will rely more on mobile for searching and shopping as the holiday season draws near, so ensure your mobile site is optimized and loads quickly.

The year-over-year changes from September 1-20, 2019 compared to the same timeframe in 2020 is as follows:

Food and Grocery Ecommerce Trends

• Website conversions increased 14%
• Transactions decreased 18%.
• Average order value (AOV) rose 11%.
• Percentage of mobile orders dropped by 1%.
• Orders by new shoppers decreased 47%.

Apparel Industry Ecommerce Trends

• Website conversions jumped 30%
• Transactions rose 18%.
• AOV increased 2%.
• Percentage of mobile orders increased 19%.
• Orders by new shoppers skyrocketed 57%.

Gifting Industry Ecommerce Trends

• Website conversions decreased 12%
• Transactions dropped 6%.
• AOV increased 5%.
• Percentage of mobile orders jumped 9%.
• Orders by new shoppers increased 2%.

Home Furnishing Ecommerce Trends

• Website conversions rose 32%
• Transactions skyrocketed 93%.
• AOV increased 5%.
• Percentage of mobile orders increased 3%.
• Orders by new shoppers soared 85%.

Pet Supplies Ecommerce Trends

• Website conversions increased 2%
• Transactions increased 30%.
• AOV dropped by 2%.
• Percentage of mobile orders rose 12%.
• Orders by new shoppers jumped 52%.

Tools and Hardware Ecommerce Trends

• Website conversions fell 8%
• Transactions jumped 42%.
• AOV rose 10%.
• Percentage of mobile orders jumped 20%.
• Orders by new shoppers soared 35%.

Interested in a more in-depth analysis of these pre-holiday trends? Join NetElixir this Friday at 1 PM ET for our new webinar, Pre-Holiday Consumer Trends & Retail Data Insights. During this short, insights-packed webinar, you’ll get an exclusive preview of the latest real-time ecommerce and consumer data analytics and NetElixir’s top 10 predictions for this holiday season. Register now at https://stage.netelixir.com//webinar/. 

Further Reading into Holiday Insights

• 2020 Holiday Data: Consumer Trends & Digital Marketing Strategies
• August 2020 Summary of Retail Ecommerce Trends
• A Different Holiday: Opportunities & Challenges in A COVID World

The post September 2020 Update Retail ECommerce Sales appeared first on NetElixir.

Overall, 73% of all respondents from NetElixir’s survey have an average to high level of comfort buying from a new brand — these potential customers just need the right opportunity to find your business. As these consumers are shopping almost equally on mobile (37.2% of respondents primarily shop on mobile) and desktop (37.9%), creating a seamless online experience across all devices is crucial to capturing these new shoppers. A very user-friendly online experience will ease in those new-to-online shoppers who are still learning about the digital world.

 ECommerce businesses have an enormous potential to attract new customers, which encourages a promising start to the holiday season and a chance for retailers strategically grow their digital presence. This holiday, entice shoppers to try something new by expanding your digital footprint and placing targeted ads where your audience is searching and shopping.

For more insights polled directly from consumers, download NetElixir’s new ebook. Along the Road to Recovery: How the Coronavirus Pandemic Reshaped ECommerce Trends and Online Shopping Behavior details four months of ecommerce data and strategic perspectives from academic and industry thought leaders to guide retailers to a better holiday season strategy. 

Learning Who Your Holiday Shopper Is

The pandemic holiday shopper is going to be different than any other holiday shopper before. Because there is so much uncertainty surrounding the holiday season and how customers will shop, Google notes that the retailer who responds the most quickly will probably be the most successful. The 2020 holiday retailer needs to be nimble and adaptable, while constantly learning more about how, where, and why their customers are shopping and searching. NetElixir’s proprietary customer analytics platform, LXRInsights, humanizes every click by giving real-time data on how users are interacting with your website. This holiday season, the most popular products and categories people are shopping for, as well as when and where they are shopping, are changing dramatically from prior years.

McKinsey’s customer sentiment reports show a higher and lasting intent to shop online, even after the pandemic subsides, especially among millennials. Digital shopping will be a huge factor of the new normal. 

Consumers are focused on getting the most value for what they spend and prioritizing essential goods. Initial consumerism resurgence in early August centered on self-pampering luxury items and sales, finds UPS Longitudes. While this trend is not sustainable, the category of self love will probably feature prominently in the holiday season as customers seek to treat themselves and their loved ones to comfort items. 

Product availability and shipping information drives what consumers buy, severing loyalty ties (though brand loyalty isn’t completely dead if it’s cultivated right). Ensure your website is updated regularly; if you have a strong social media presence, use stories for quick updates to keep customers informed about new deliveries, what’s out of stock, and shipping issues. Showing some behind-the-scenes of inventory and packaging can go a long way in humanizing your business this holiday season, while keeping customers in the loop. 

However, each retailer and marketer needs to understand who their own unique customers are, as well as their behaviors and preferences. Catering to and helping your customers will help you better navigate this holiday season.

FURTHER READING ON HOLIDAY INSIGHTS

• Google’s Digital Insights to Uncover Clues for Q4 Readiness
• The Holiday Season Starts Now
• Executive Panel Discussion: Holiday Season Insights Learned Over the Course of the Pandemic
• Getting Ready for the Near Future of Advertising with Microsoft
• A Different Holiday: Challenges and Opportunities in a Covid World

The post What Does Your Holiday Shopper Expect? appeared first on NetElixir.