How To Enjoy The Biggest Ever Christmas Shopping Season As A Retailer

If you’re an online retailer now is the time to gear up for the Christmas shopping season, as the highly respected Adobe Digital Insights (ADI) forecast suggests a record breaking run of sales is on the way.

The Adobe Digital Insights track holiday shopping for ecommerce with this year’s predictions just released. The report is jam-packed with positivity for online retailers with strong forecasts of record spend but there’s also plenty for those running high street shops to look forward to. Read on to discover what’s in store between now and December and then get ready to ramp up your content marketing, digital PR and social media marketing with our smart solutions for brands ready to capitalise on this incoming tide of seasonal sales.

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    Expect Christmas shopping sales to reach new heights

    Consumers will spend more than ever this year on the run up to Christmas with Adobe expecting a 14.8% year on year increase. In the US alone, shoppers will spend $124.1 billion online throughout the festive season – a double digit growth forecast which is unusual in an already billion dollar sector and one that should give retailers plenty of reasons to be jolly.

    If you run a high street shop but have a website too, expect that buy online and pick up in store options to be in demand, with a 119% growth. Many shoppers find this the most convenient way to get their hands on last minute presents so it’s well worth including this facility in your seasonal sales messages.

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    The Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend will set records

    In addition to the overall spend setting a new record, expect Black Friday and Cyber Monday to be blockbusters too. In fact, Cyber Monday is on course to the biggest online sales day ever – so make sure you have social media posts, PR and blogs in place to get the word out about your fantastic deals.

    Adobe expects this year’s Cyber Monday to be more than 17% bigger than last year – which was a world record breaker in its own right. Around $7.8 billion will be spent online in the US on Cyber Monday according to Adobe, with Black Friday a close second at $5.9 billion. In the UK, these are the days when shoppers flock online for bargains too, so expect a similar tale this side of the Pond. With just a few weeks to go, now is the time to intensify your digital marketing to create demand, build expectation and ensure you’re front of mind when the biggest online shopping day in the world hits.

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    Mobile will be key

    This might come as no surprise but it’s worth repeating – mobile will be a key source of revenue during the build up to Christmas so you’ll need to ensure you are doing all you can to win over mobile shoppers. All told, around 37% of sales will come from mobile devices, making it a key driver of revenue this festive season – around $9 billion. Smartphones will be responsible for much of those sales, with apps converting highly.

    Voice search devices such as smart speakers will also play a part, though don’t expect lots of transactions directly as yet. For the most part, they will be used to help in making a purchase decision or conduct a product search.

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    If you have a hot product, expect it to go fast

    If you have a popular product, expect that to generate much of your revenue – with around 70% of holiday season sales predicted to come from just 1% of SKUs. If you do have a product you want to shift, now is the time to start marketing it to create that demand.

    Some days will see spikes in particular types of products too, which it pays to be aware of, with the Thursday before Black Friday popular for sporting goods and fitness equipment, Black Friday is traditionally great for retailers selling tech items like televisions and computers, while Cyber Monday sees a run on toys, travel products and experiences.

Are you ready to make this Christmas shopping season your best ever? Use code CYBERMONDAY at checkout and get 10% off our global PR service, our outstanding PR and digital brand authority pack or a month’s worth of social media posts – all excellent ways to get the word out about your products and help you to make the most of this festive shopping opportunity.

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