Five Trends Every Retailer Should Know about the Holidays

Retailers are gearing up for another record year of holiday sales. This post provides a quick look at the stats behind the Where, What, and Why of projected consumer spending habits for the 2018 Holiday Retail Season. (source: RetailMeNot’s 2018 Holiday Insights Guide)

Where holiday buyers will shop

The majority of shoppers will still head to department stores for holiday gifts, although as expected, the amount of people shopping online will be a close second.

• 67% – Department stores
• 60% – Online-only retailers
• 47% – Big Box Stores

What holiday buyers want

Everybody wants a good deal…including free shipping

• 87% – Are searching for deals on holiday gifts
• 61% – Say they will not complete an online purchase during the holiday season without first securing free shipping

Top reasons a customer will spend more with a retailer

Having the lowest price and the best deals is a recurring theme…

• 67% – Have the lowest price
• 64% – Provide free shipping
• 51% – Offer the best sales and discount offers throughout the season

How retailers are responding

95% of retailers agree deals and discounts are more effective at driving purchases during the holidays than other times of the year…

• 81% will offer more discounts this season than last season
• 74% will begin marketing efforts earlier this year to capture attention
• 71% will offer deeper discounts during the 2018 holiday season versus last year

How retailers will socialize their tactics

It looks like Facebook is still the king of social media, with Instagram coming in second…

• 90% – Facebook
• 76% – Instagram
• 53%- Pinterest advertising
• Others include Snapchat, Fashion/beauty influencers, Vloggers and Celebrity influencers

For retailers looking forward to big holiday sales, they must also be ready for big holiday returns. This is where B-Stock comes in: we provide a liquidation auction platform that directly connects major retailers looking to sell returned merchandise to SMB owners that will resell that merchandise through clearance and discount stores.

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