Infographic: Holiday Supply Chain 2018

by Fronetics | Nov 27, 2018 | Blog, Content Marketing, Current Events, Logistics, Marketing, Social Media, Supply Chain

With the 2018 holidays approaching fast, customers are pulling out their wallets and getting ready to increase holiday spending by at least 4.3%.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) is estimating that holiday sales will be up 4.3-4.8% over 2017, for a total of $717.45 billion to $720.89 billion. “Thanks to a healthy economy and strong consumer confidence, we believe that this holiday season will continue to reflect the growth we’ve seen over the past year,” says NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay.

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Shopping insights

Consumers are planning to spend an average total of $1,007 for decorations, candy, and gifts ($853 on average), as well as other purchases for themselves and their families ($154 on average). This is an increase from 2017, continuing the trend of growth over the past 5 years.

Not only are they spending more, but consumers are starting early this year—as many as 40% will have started their holiday shopping by November 1, and 18% got started in September or earlier.With Black Friday and Cyber Monday behind us, consumers have been using deals and promotions to start getting items on their holiday lists. 164.6 million shopped or considered shopping during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

Increasingly, shoppers are turning online, many on mobile devices. 71% are planning to use a smartphone or tablet to research or make a purchase. In fact, 55% of consumers are planning to shop online. Of those, 94% plan to take advantage of free shipping, 50% plan to buy online and pick up in store, and 16% plan to splurge on expedited shipping.

Priorities

Holiday shoppers rank sales and price discounts (71%), quality (60%), selection of merchandise (60%), and free shipping (47%) as the top factors in deciding where to shop this year.

“Consumers will be scouring through retailers’ ads to make sure they are getting the best deal possible,” Prosper Insights Executive Vice President of Strategy Phil Rist said. “Although sales will remain an important factor, shoppers want good quality and want to be able to find what they’re looking for.”

(Made with Canva)

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2017 Holidays Supply Chain Infographic

by Fronetics | Nov 16, 2017 | Blog, Current Events, Supply Chain

With the 2017 holidays right around the corner, consumers are digging into their pockets and getting ready to increase sales, especially online.

The National Retail Federation is estimating that holiday sales will be up 3.6-4% from last year, totaling $678.5 billion in holiday spending. What’s more, consumers will be hitting the malls earlier than ever. More and more retailors are forgoing the traditional Thanksgiving dinner to open their stores during the holiday. Major retailers, including Target, Kohls, and Toys “R” Us, will open their doors at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.

“[Thanksgiving] was a strong weekend for retailers, but an even better weekend for consumers, who took advantage of some really incredible deals. In fact, over one third of shoppers said 100% of their purchases were on sale,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay in 2016.

The NRF is estimating that the average consumer will spend $967.13 during the holiday season, almost $300 of which will be spent during Thanksgiving weekend.

Holiday spending can be broken up into three major categories:

Gifts
Items such as food, decorations, flowers and greeting cards
Other non-gift items consumers buy for themselves and their families

For the first time in NRF’s survey history, online shopping has become the most popular shopping destination. In fact, 59% of consumers will head to their computers for holiday spending, where most will benefit from free shipping (94%).

“While many consumers are holding off until November or later to start their holiday shopping, retailers should be prepared for high traffic online and in stores come Thanksgiving weekend,” Prosper Insights Principal Analyst Pam Goodfellow says. “Although sales will remain an important factor for most consumers, many will lean on convenient locations and easy-to-use websites or mobile apps along with free shipping to complete their purchases.”

2017 holidays supply chain infographic

(Made with Canva)

From all of us at Fronetics, have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Related posts:

2017 Holidays Supply Chain Infographic

With the 2017 holidays right around the corner, consumers are digging into their pockets and getting ready to increase sales, especially online.

2017 holidays supply chain infographic

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