3 Holiday eCommerce Predictions for 2018
3 Holiday eCommerce Predictions for 2018
Winter is coming, and with it comes the impending rush to get all your holiday shopping done on time and for less money than you did in previous years. With that in mind, B2C eCommerce businesses need to be on top of the latest consumer trends to drive online sales and increase revenue during the busy holiday season. We’ve compiled a list of eCommerce predictions for this year’s holiday season – will your products make it across the checkout line? Read on to make sure they do!
1. Early shopping, like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, will continue to provide a chunk of the total U.S. retail revenue
According to this recap report from Adobe Digital Insights, not only did online holiday shopping show 14.7% growth year-over-year in 2017, but Black Friday and Cyber Monday represented 21% and 15% (respectively) more of the shopping season in 2017 than they did in 2013. Furthermore, the five-day weekend totaled $19.6B, with the season total hitting $50 billion five days earlier than it did the previous year in 2016.Make sure that your email campaigns and promotions start ahead of this mammoth shopping weekend and capitalize off the massive amount of online shopping that will inevitably take place on Cyber Monday 2018.
2. Mobile sales will continue to grow, exceeding over half of all online sales
Rather than getting out to the store on Black Friday, we predict that a lot of shoppers will get their gift-hunting started earlier – perhaps even on Thanksgiving Day – right from their smartphones. In 2017, Thanksgiving weekend say $7B spent on smartphones or tablets, making up 35.7% of all online revenue during that time. Thanksgiving Day had the most mobile-heavy share of the weekend, with $1.2B spent on mobile devices – which likely means consumers were shopping while they waited for the turkey to come out of the oven.
Make sure your website is mobile-friendly and responsive across all devices, to provide the best customer experience and optimize your conversion rates.
3. Voice-driven assistants will impact retail eCommerce sales for the first time
With the rise of technology like Alexa and Google Home, we can expect to see a rise in the use of voice devices to purchase holiday gifts. Additionally, voice apps that enhance Alexa devices are already being used by several retailers to help shoppers buy online. This is a direct response to the fact that in 2017, Pew Research Center reported that 46% of Americans use digital voice assistants.
How will your business use the above insights to make your holiday revenue goals attainable? Let us know in the comments and read more about Unbound Commerce here!
