Holiday Shopping Trends 2023 & Being Prepared

September 27, 2023

Industry Fact:
Global Holiday Purchases Through Online Marketplaces Could Reach $253 Billion

Consumers are planning to shop earlier and prioritize premium delivery experiences.

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| INSIGHTS

Holiday Shopping Trends 2023

ShipStation has released a comprehensive report on holiday shopping trends for 2023, highlighting key insights from a global consumer and merchant study. Three notable findings from the report include:

  1. "Early-Bird Shoppers" on the Rise: While consumers globally are cautious about their holiday spending, 41% of surveyed U.S. holiday shoppers plan to begin their holiday shopping before October. This shift presents an opportunity for merchants to strategically promote holiday deals earlier, with one in four merchants intending to increase their holiday promotion frequency this year.

  2. Online Marketplaces Dominate: ShipStation's research underscores the growing significance of online marketplaces during the holiday season. Approximately one in every two online orders made during the holidays is expected to occur through an online marketplace, accounting for an estimated $253 billion in global sales during the holidays. North America is expected to lead in this spend, with $183 billion.

  3. Reprioritizing Delivery Experiences: While delivery costs remain important, consumers are placing greater emphasis on delivery speed, parcel visibility, and flexible returns ahead of the holidays. The report reveals that 50% of surveyed shoppers expect an online purchase to arrive within two days as a standard during the holiday season. Additionally, over half of consumers are willing to pay up to $9 extra for same-day, next-day, or scheduled delivery services during the holidays. Parcel insurance is also highlighted as crucial, especially in the U.S., where missing or stolen parcels are a top concern.

These findings suggest that merchants should adapt their strategies to cater to early shoppers, leverage online marketplaces, and prioritize premium delivery experiences to meet evolving consumer expectations during the holiday season.

| NEWS

Ecommerce
Delivering Black Friday Success

nShift, a global leader in delivery management, has released a guide focused on achieving success during Black Friday for online and omnichannel retailers. The guide addresses common mistakes that hinder Black Friday success, including poor stress-testing of infrastructure, cart-conversion strategies, customer experience, delivery options, and environmental considerations, emphasizing the importance of prioritizing the customer experience and efficient delivery services during this high-demand shopping event.

Social Media
ShipBob Partners with TikTok To Power Logistics Solution

ShipBob, a leading global omnifulfillment platform, has teamed up with TikTok to launch 'Fulfilled by TikTok,' a logistics program aimed at simplifying the selling process for brands and merchants using TikTok Shop in the US. This partnership allows sellers to leverage ShipBob's AI-driven fulfillment capabilities and network of centers, providing nationwide inventory storage, efficient order fulfillment, and swift shipping for their TikTok Shop customers.

Retail
Faire x Shopify Announce Partnership To Simplify Your Wholesale Business

Faire, the leading B2B retail marketplace, has formed a global partnership with Shopify, establishing Faire as the recommended wholesale marketplace for Shopify's extensive network of merchants worldwide. This collaboration aims to enhance B2B commerce by providing Shopify merchants with streamlined access to Faire's vast product offerings, creating opportunities for small business growth, and offering features such as convenient reordering and simplified wholesale distribution between the two platforms.

eCommerce
parcelLab Launches Campaign Manager for Personalized Post-Purchase Journeys

parcelLab has launched Campaign Manager, a user-friendly content tool designed for marketing and digital teams to create personalized post-purchase customer journeys and drive brand loyalty and revenue through targeted campaigns. This tool allows retailers to segment their customer base, build influential campaign audiences, and tailor use cases for specific business objectives.

Marketing
Optimizing Ecommerce Ad Spend for Maximum ROI

Eight actionable strategies for advertisers to optimize their e-commerce ad spend, ultimately maximizing return on investment (ROI). From embracing upper-funnel tactics and diverse campaign types to leveraging automation and data-driven attribution, these approaches aim to help advertisers achieve greater efficiency and growth in their online marketing efforts.

Sustainability
Why Sustainability Is Important To Business

Emphasizing the importance of sustainability for businesses, it highlights how it not only benefits the planet but also contributes to a company's success. It discusses how Unilever is actively working to integrate sustainability into its business model and products, showcasing the advantages of a sustainable approach, including meeting consumer demands, creating operational efficiency, and driving growth through purpose-driven initiatives.

| EVENTS

Grow LA
October 17 • Los Angeles, CA

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