holiday 2020

Has Covid-19 Changed Holiday Shopping Patterns?

The pandemic has changed the face of shopping from being a swift one to a longer one. Criteo, advertising, and retail technology expert team published data on the holiday shopping pattern, product category, and many others.

Criteo reports that the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales were less by 5% from 2019. The majority of this was accounted for by online sales than by in-store shopping. Past patterns have proved that customers begin their shopping spree from the Thanksgiving holiday week off and take it up until year-end. However, this year may be tempered because of the pandemic. Let’s be what are the changes.

November – Cyber Month

Unlike the regular sales spike through the long holiday shopping season, 2020 cyber sales saw a sales drop by 9% vs 2019. However, sales on the holiday weekend, Saturday and Sunday had an increase of 6% over last year than Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

COVID’s influence on Product Type

In the review of Criteo’s data, it is quite clear that COVID certainly has an impact on the purchase pattern and the product category movement. Furniture, software, sporting goods, and electronics indexed low in comparison to previous years. This is factful as consumers brought furniture and other products during the lockdown and quarantine earlier in the year. Apparel, accessories, toys, and games topped the list as classic gifts like every year. Interesting products that sold well are pet supply products, winter apparel, musical instruments, and cameras.

High sales of these products seem to focus on comfort and warmth, which makes sense in the context of the pandemic. Post pandemic, there will be an increase in the conventional in-store shopping and recovery of less selling product categories. The pandemic has changed the face of shopping, made it a longer season and home-oriented products.

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Five Ways Holiday Shopping Will Be Different This Year

Holiday Shopping will be different this year. As each year, holidays are around but it is going to be different this year as everything else. With most cities around the country going into the next round of lockdown due to the increasing number of COVID cases, shopping will not be normal. While shopping is inevitable, you can save and still make the season merrier by following the below methods.

A Timely Gift

This season let the gifting convention be more of time than of an object. Time is a rare gift and it has not received its recognition as we take it for granted. This year, give your time to your loved ones, be it friends or family members. You can connect over apps or meet safely at a distance, keeping it personal this year would be much appreciated.

An Exclusive Holiday Account

While managing your finances and segregating your fund, try to create a fund exclusively for holidaying. A holiday account need not be for expensive items, like a car or house down payment, it just needs to be a place to set aside money for your annual holiday time. Creating such an account will help you realize your dream holiday.

Being Together

Togetherness is a gift of joy that no materialistic gift can supplement. Holidaying is all about spending time with family and friends and being together. Involvement in activities such as virtual or outdoor dinner, movie watching, reading can all be made more fun.

Look out for Sales

Most retailers are planning to launch as well as extend sales to increase their reach. Since COVID has impacted physical shopping to an extent, shopping online is one of the safest methods, and do watch out for deals from online giants like Amazon and others.

Sooner the Better

It is ideal to begin your holiday shopping early as there are chances of delayed shipping. With increased online shoppers, you may end up paying hefty shipping costs as the holidays get closer.

Think before you spend and plan in advance to treat this year’s holiday shopping as like all other years. Enjoy your holiday with loved ones being safe is the most important factor.

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Shop Smart and Safe This Holiday Season

The holiday season is just ramping up and online sellers are looking forward to, yet another record-breaking Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales just gone by. While consumers are on the lookout for buying electronics, toys, and household goods to welcome the prospective year ahead, there is an increased proliferation of online sellers on social media, e-commerce platforms, and independent websites.

Deceptive advertisements using pictures and logos taken from company websites lure consumers to buy fake products. Since consumers cannot make physical contact with the product before purchase, buying decisions are impacted by the information provided on the website. There are no foolproof methods to escape this, but consumers can follow a few tips suggested to avoid becoming a victim this holiday season

1.Shop from the company’s website – It is advisable to buy from a company’s website than buying from dealer websites and online bazaars, which may sell the product at a lower cost but it can be a counterfeit.

2.Pay attention to the seller on an e-commerce website – Most companies sell their products on e-commerce websites, while a few sell through distributors on these platforms. If you find a product being sold by the company and other sellers, choose to buy from the manufacturer than from the distributors to ensure you have the original product.

3.Investigate other sellers or distributors – There are cases where a company does not have its own website nor sell through other e-commerce platforms. In such cases, check for details on seller profile, their ratings, feedback, reviews from buyers, etc. You can also watch out for the product type the seller distributes – there cannot be a mix of products like luxury jewelry, electronics, health accessories, etc. This could be a potential counterfeit.

4.Watch out for Price – Before buying, do a pricing trend through a general google search to see the variation. Compare the sale price you have online to what the actual company advertises and then make your buying decision.

Stocked up Vs Sold Out – You can be suspicious when the manufacturer’s channels mention non-availability, but only one or two sellers have stocked up the product, it could be a possible counterfeit.

Holiday time is all about shopping and spending quality money and time. Maximize your spending and spread the cheer of the holiday by decreasing the chances of becoming a counterfeit victim.

Link:ilioSpark.com