(Newswire.net — December 16, 2015) — Big changes are afoot when it comes to Christmas shopping. Gone are the days where patrons would flock to their favorite department stores en masse, seeking out the best buys, discounts, sales and so forth. Sure, a die-hard contingent of old school shoppers exists and there is precious little to substitute for the in-store shopping experience. But nowadays, it’s all about comfort, convenience and instant access to whatever you want. It is simply so much easier to sit at your desk, on your bed, or walk and talk with your smartphone while doing your Christmas shopping online. You don’t have to worry about fighting the traffic, travelling to and fro, waiting in line or wasting precious time. Online shopping has gained traction with users, and it is being reflected in lower turnouts at bricks and mortar retail outlets across the US and continental Europe. It all began with Black Friday, which saw sharp declines in in-store sales.
Sharp Decreases in Land-Based Stores
Fewer people are spending time waiting in line, and more are shifting to online purchases. In fact, the sharp declines at retail outlets led to retail sales figures of $10.4 billion in 2015, as compared to $11.6 billion a year earlier. This is a substantial reduction in in-store sales, but it should not be confused with overall retail sales which encompass online sales. Thanksgiving sales figures dropped from $2 billion to $1.8 billion this year, and this is typically a portend of the Christmas shopping season to follow. With Santa Claus in town spreading his festive cheer, there is plenty of optimism that the 2015 Christmas shopping season will be a booming affair for retailers. It simply makes sense to shop online: You can fast track your shopping experience by having artificial intelligence software bring deals to you based on your browsing behaviour. However, one should not be misled about what happened on Thanksgiving in what is likely to happen over the Christmas shopping period.
Many families tend to enjoy going shopping together over the school holidays. Bricks and mortar stores such as Target, Walmart, Kmart, Macy’s, Marks & Spencer, Nordstrom, Victoria’s Secret, H&M, Tiffany’s and other companies are going to see record numbers of sales in December, as is always the case. We can expect stronger retail growth based on the fact that wages are increasing, unemployment is down, and the US economy is proving resilient to the incisive effects of global economic forces. Many retail managers have increasingly positive expectations regarding the Christmas shopping season, and they have voiced their opinions in all manner of polls conducted by various agencies. e-Commerce sales have spiked in recent times, and this trend is becoming a new reality. At the end of November, a poll was conducted by Adobe which concluded that a 14.3% spike in online sales has taken place based on 4,500 retailers.
Christmas Shopping in the US
We are days away from Christmas, and already the numbers are coming in: restaurants and retail outlets are exceptionally bullish about the prospects for December 2015. According to the Commerce Department, retail sales growth spiked by 0.2% during the month of November – up from 0.1% during October. The sectors which benefited from the holiday shopping season include sports stores and clothing stores. With all the retail therapy taking place, shoppers are working up quite an appetite and this reflects in the 0.7% increase in restaurant revenues. With all this spending activity taking place, it is evident that US consumers are feeling positive about the US economy. It will be interesting to see how a rate hike eventually impacts on buying sentiment, as credit card-fueled purchases will be made more expensive with higher interest rates. Fortunately, the lag effect will delay implementation of high rates by banks and credit card companies so 2015 Christmas shoppers will likely be let off the hook.
Online Shopping in the United Kingdom Takes off
It’s hard to believe, but just 10% of customers throughout the UK shop in store. This is the result of a poll conducted by Approved Index. According to the poll, 8.71% of people shop exclusively online, 38.36% of people shop mostly online, 42.61% of people shop partially online and 10.32% of people do not shop online at all. It is that last figure that is most startling given human buying behaviour. Very few British consumers enjoy frequenting high-street department stores anymore. The fact that a full 89% of shoppers have a preference for at least some online shopping over frequenting a land-based store is an important point. One of the reasons why people do not enjoy physically shopping at a department store is the excessive crowds.
This is not surprising during Christmas time when department stores are absolutely jam-packed the capacity. Other reasons for not shopping at department stores include the Christmas songs (8.24%), over-enthusiastic sales staff (7.78%), the difficulty in carrying large shopping baskets (12.39%), and so forth. Interestingly enough, more than 60% of shoppers in the UK have a preference for looking online for their shopping needs than frequenting a high-street department store. And perhaps the most surprising statistic of all those polled by Approved Index is the following: 88% of shoppers in United Kingdom believe that online shopping will eventually replace or equal high-street shopping.