The Webinar is over! But if you missed it – scroll down to see the full recording.
It might be hard to believe, but the holiday season is right around the corner, which means planning your marketing strategies needs to start now. (No, seriously, like right now.)
While it is no secret that the “buying season” has been starting earlier pretty much every year for the past decade, this trend has shifted into hyperdrive over the past couple of years.
Furthermore, if last year is any indication of this year’s holiday season, not only will the shopping season start earlier than ever, but the competition will also ramp up.
Here are a few stats that we are watching closely (and that you should be, too!) when it comes to building digital strategies for this 2021 holiday season.
Social Commerce and Social Selling
According to Facebook, United States social commerce sales this year will increase by nearly 36% to just over $36.5 billion. This is only a slight slowing in growth from social commerce’s rise in 2020, when sales increased by 38.9%. Meaning this combination of last year’s nearly 40% increase with this year’s estimated 36% increase indicates a ton of attention shifting to social platforms this holiday season.
Purchasing and Researching
Facebook’s data also shows that in 2020 just over 50% of customers made purchases in-store as opposed to nearly 90% using their computers or smart devices. When we dive into researching what to purchase, only about 28% indicated they were planning on researching in-store as opposed to online options.
Holiday Sales and Promotions
Understanding where and how customers research those holiday deals is where things start to get a bit more interesting. While most of us might assume that Amazon alone has the market cornered when it comes to finding “deals,” the data says otherwise.
In the same Facebook report, we found that only about 30% relied on ecommerce-specific sites like Amazon. In fact, the highest-ranked winner with 45% of the vote showed that customers opted to visit their preferred brand websites directly, followed by social media platforms and direct searches via Google.
Ecommerce Growth Projections
You most likely saw the headlines that (mostly fueled by the pandemic) ecommerce purchasing grew by over 40% in 2020, and this trend is continuing. While not as robust as 2020, year over year, ecommerce is expected to add an additional 17.9% to its growth tally with estimated spending expected to exceed $933 billion. Beyond this, according to the National Retail Federation (in 2020), over 40% of customers planned to start their holiday shopping earlier than normal.
Due to continued uncertainty surrounding the ongoing pandemic, product availability, and expected supply line and shipping delays, we anticipate this trend to continue in 2021. All of this data appears to indicate not only a longer (and earlier) holiday shopping season, but also a more ecommerce-dependent one.
How to Prepare for the 2021 Holiday Season
With all of this data, you might be asking yourself, “Great! But what can I do right now?”
Well, we are so glad you asked!
You can see the full webinar right now so you know how to prepare for the 2021 Holiday season.
Ready To Get Started?
Have questions or looking to get you complimentary 1-on-1 strategy session to prepare for the holiday season? Click right here to contact us. If you have a specific focus for the 2021 Holiday season, such as – Amazon, Google Ads, or Social Commerce, be sure to let us know and we will ensure you are partnered with a member of your desired team.
Cheers to a safe, happy, healthy, and profitable Holiday season!