Holiday shopping started early this year, with sales kicking off on November 21—a full week before the Cyber Five period—and evolving into what we’re calling the “Cyber Dozen.” Despite the extended shopping period, Cyber Five still accounted for 15.5% of holiday ecommerce sales, per EMARKETER’s forecast.
Here is what you should know.
- Traditional shopping periods continue to evolve.
- Shoppers are starting earlier and spreading purchases across the season.
- Physical stores will capture the majority of holiday purchases.
- Mobile commerce will dominate online shopping.
- Deal-seeking will intensify across categories.
Really good UX is about knowing what consumers want and how to stay ahead of the demand curve.
This means being smarter than the other guys.
Smaller ticket categories will shine as low-cost competition intensifies. Food and beverage will lead category sales growth for the third consecutive year. And promotions will be a priority as shoppers hunt for savings to help offset the long-term impact of elevated prices across many categories of goods and services.
Marketers must leverage pockets of opportunity to stay ahead. Careful campaign timing and a willingness to experiment across channels and formats can help brands and retailers stand out from the crowd. But they can’t neglect the basics of meeting consumer needs and expectations around deals, delivery, and payment options.
UX also requires a study and deep understanding of cycles.
Total retail sales will finish the year on an upbeat note
Holiday retail sales will grow much faster than full-year
retail. Total retail sales during the 2024 holiday season
(which we define as November and December) will reach
$1.353 trillion, up 4.8% YoY, compared with 2.8% growth for
full-year retail. This marks an improvement over the 2023
holidays, when sales increased 3.9% YoY.
The holidays are a critical period for retail and
ecommerce. November and December will account for
18.4% of total US retail sales this year, per our forecast.
For ecommerce, the holidays play an even larger role,
representing 22.3% of full-year sales. Average monthly
online sales during the holidays will be 43.0% higher than
during the rest of the year
UXpedition 