Three Trends To Watch This Holiday Shopping Season

With 1 little shopping weekend, statesmanlike predetermination ripple effects, and user behaviors that tin move connected a dime, retailers’ levels of agility and responsiveness will beryllium put to nan trial arsenic they caput into highest vacation shopping season.

This year, location are 3 user trends they should salary adjacent attraction to.

1. Spend expected to rise, nevertheless value and worth still matters

The first signals affirmative news for retailers arsenic U.S. shoppers expect to walk much this twelvemonth than last. Accenture’s Annual Holiday Shopping Survey recovered they scheme to walk an mean of $613 this season, up 4% from $591 successful 2023.

While this will undoubtably travel arsenic invited news, it should beryllium treated pinch cautious optimism, arsenic woody seeking shoppers proceed to beryllium connected nan lookout for promotions, incentives and savings. Accenture’s survey recovered that almost seven successful 10 (68%) consumers rated value and worth among nan astir important factors successful deciding what retailer to bargain from, and 30% said they will shop arsenic and erstwhile they are offered promotions aliases discounts.

Although stand-alone income events specified arsenic Black Friday and Cyber Monday still play a domiciled successful boosting sales, retailers will request to onslaught a observant equilibrium not to consequence a title to nan bottommost connected price. Instead, they should attraction efforts connected putting successful spot a move income and trading scheme that is anchored astir existing inventory and tin beryllium adapted arsenic request fluctuates.

2. Unused gift cards, a missed opportunity for retailers?

One measurement retailers tin boost income and prosecute caller customers is to pat into nan gift paper marketplace that Statista estimates is worthy $200 cardinal successful nan United States past year.

A staple portion of nan vacation gifting experience, four successful 10 consumers are readying to bargain gift cards this twelvemonth and almost 3 quarters are doing truthful because it’s an easy and safe action erstwhile drafting a blank connected what to bargain someone. However, it tin beryllium seen arsenic lacking nan individual touch by those connected nan receiving side.

A 3rd of consumers told Accenture they were disappointed that nan personification hadn’t put clip and effort into readying a personalized gift. A akin number felt weary reasoning astir nan clip and effort they would request to put into utilizing nan gift card.

Perhaps then, it’s not astonishing that contempt being a celebrated prime among vacation shoppers, half of nan recipients surveyed by Accenture said they grounded to redeem nan afloat equilibrium of nan card, resulting successful an unspent equilibrium of USD$120, connected average, per consumer.

While gift cards supply instant gross to retailers, there’s a broader opportunity to move gift paper holders into loyal customers. That intends embedding productivity and interactivity into nan experience, evolving gift cards from being a past edifice solution, into a thoughtful and individual gift that shoppers are excited to give, and recipients are excited to use.

It besides intends making nan process of purchasing, utilizing and managing gift cards overmuch easier to do. For instance, recipients told Accenture that simplifying equilibrium cheque options (36%), regular reminders of unspent balances (35%) and an easier redemption process online and in-store (32%) would thief guarantee they usage their gift cards.

There’s besides an opportunity to make semipermanent loyalty done tailoring suggestions and incentives to promote nan gift paper recipient to prosecute and return. The Starbucks’ integer eGift Card, for example, allows shoppers to customize images and messages according to recipient’s preferences. They tin easy past redeem and support way of walk in-store aliases via nan Starbucks app and moreover bid up for other convenience.

3. Beware of buyers’ artifact

Gift cards is only 1 of nan galore options shoppers tin take from erstwhile buying a gift for a loved one, location are countless others. In fact, nan 3rd inclination highlights that excessively galore options could lead to consumers stepping distant from making a determination aliases acquisition astatine all.

Accenture’s survey recovered a ample group of consumers (68%) could look ‘Buyers’ Block’ – nan effect of emotion overwhelmed by number of options to take from. The result? The mostly (82%) opportunity they will wantonness their shopping carts owed to vexation aliases indecision, and astir 1 successful 3 (33%) will shop elsewhere.

With more than 8 successful 10 (81%) of shoppers wishing they could make decisions connected what to bargain much quickly, easy and confidently, and almost three quarters (73%) saying they would invited inspiration, retailers tin differentiate and thrust gross done inspiring and guiding consumers astatine each shape of their shopping journey.

Innovative retailers should empower shop associates to show their expertise – arsenic “inspiration champions” to thief animate and counsel shoppers. This will travel arsenic invited news to nan 40% of consumers who admit individual customer support.

Inspiration besides comes from being capable to browse for ideas. Almost half of vacation shoppers – rising to 53% of Gen X consumers (aged 44-59 years) – opportunity they for illustration to sojourn beingness stores to spot and measure products first hand. This is wherever retailers pinch beingness stores could guidelines to summation done applying productivity to shop layout, maximizing nan income for each quadrate ft of their allocated trading space. For example, a dedicated area for gift wrapping aliases personalization services.

Then there’s nan situation of wherever and really consumers acquisition a retailer. Everything from nan adverts and integer trading they receive, to nan online and in-store experiences, to nan customer work they brushwood on nan way. These are each factors that tin make aliases break nan season.

This is wherever gen AI tin adhd a touch of sparkle to this year’s vacation shopping experience. The vast mostly (93%) of consumers agree gen AI could thief them find amended gifts, while 89% worth nan recommendations that gen AI devices provide. Just see really this transformational exertion tin enactment arsenic a individual shopping advisor – a “guide by nan side” of purchasing decisions – pinch human-like consequence abilities suggesting gift ideas, aliases proposal connected wrapping.

Just look astatine Etsy's Gift Mode™. This interactive, AI-powered hub helps shoppers find unique, personalized gifts by matching them pinch items tailored to complete 200 recipient personas. Through blending instrumentality learning exertion pinch quality curation, Etsy simplifies decision-making and offers imaginative options to shoppers.

Retailers must show up

One last constituent to consider. With truthful overmuch prime complete what to buy, wherever to bargain and erstwhile to buy, retailers will request to activity that overmuch harder to guidelines retired from nan crowd. They will request to harness nan powerfulness of their marque truthful that it acts arsenic a magnet to tie customers to shop pinch them complete their competitors. And they will request to present inspiration and exceptional customer work to guarantee happy customers. That will spell a agelong measurement to building and sustaining customer loyalty acold beyond nan highest season.