Every holiday season is an exciting time for both the customer and the business. This is a good time for businesses to launch new products and promotions that would cater to the customer base. For shopping enthusiasts, this is the best opportunity to clinch some incredible deals and discounts – both through online and offline purchases.
Adobe predicts that online shoppers will spend a record amount of $241 billion during the 2024 holiday season – an increase of 8.4% from 2023. A Deloitte survey found that shoppers are planning to increase their spending by 8% as compared to 2023. Interestingly, more customers are valuing their shopping experience rather than products.
The holiday season provides a great opportunity for retail CXOs to engage with their consumers in this changing landscape. However, economic challenges, such as living costs, will force consumers to curb their holiday spending. According to McKinsey, retailers can maximize their holiday season sales by offering their consumers:
- Personalized promotions
- Same-day deliveries
- Buy now, pay later facility
Which are the top 5 trends that are likely to dominate this year’s holiday shopping season? Let’s discuss.
- Omnichannel shopping
93% of consumers prefer hybrid shopping, which is a mix of online and in-store shopping. 74% of consumers conduct online research before visiting a retail store.
To win this holiday season, retail brands can achieve more by creating an omnichannel experience that will add value to their customers. At the same time, CXOs in the retail space cannot overlook customer fatigue. 81% of shoppers expect to be overwhelmed by marketing messages by December this year.
An efficient omnichannel strategy must be about balancing product marketing without excessive customer communications. Among the latest trends, shoppers want to transition seamlessly between physical and digital channels – including in-store and mobile channels.
- Early season shopping
Among the interesting trends (that started in 2023), U.S. consumers are spreading out their season shopping across more months. Early and extended shopping will continue to prevail in this holiday season too. Inflationary pressure is mainly driving this shopping trend in 2024. 16% of shoppers began their holiday shopping as early as June this year – while 27% started their purchases in October.
Early and extended shopping presents retail CXOs with the opportunity to implement their holiday marketing strategy in a phased manner. With promotions like early-bird and limited-time offers, they can encourage and reward early-season shoppers.
- Personalized experiences
In 2024, personalized experiences continue to sway shoppers toward their preferred brands. With half of retail customers shopping for themselves this holiday season, it’s natural for them to go for brands that take care of their individual preferences. 88% of shoppers want personalized recommendations from brands this year – considering their previous purchases.
This year, 53% of shoppers want to use Generative AI to find that perfect holiday gift. That’s why AI-powered personalization was responsible for 17% of all purchases in 2023 – or sales worth $199 billion.
Moreover, 44% of millennial consumers are interested in using “virtual” AI-powered shopping assistants. This shows the growing number of consumers who are comfortable with a personalized shopping experience.
- Cost Consciousness
With their increasing economic challenges, 80% of consumers plan to spend the same amount of money – or less – in this year’s holiday season. In 2023, nearly 66% of American shoppers were looking for “value for money” products and promotions for their holiday shopping. This will be true this year, too.
Another interesting trend among European shoppers is that 64% of them are contemplating buying second-hand goods in this year’s festive season. Beyond cost savings, this trend is also driven by environment-conscious consumers looking for sustainability.
- Customer service
While a competitive pricing model can attract new customers, CXOs in the retail business must equally prioritize customer service. 95% of consumers are more likely to return to the same retailer after a positive brand experience. This emphasizes the importance of customer service.
Similarly, efficient product returns can also boost the CX. 35% of in-store consumers have a positive reaction to refunds after a product return. However, shoppers in the age group of 21-29 years rate product returns as the biggest hassle in online shopping.
As consumers demand improved customer service, reverse logistics is essential for retailers to streamline their product returns management.
The need for higher warehouse throughput
Thanks to trends like early shopping and an increase in online purchases, retail companies must transform their warehouses to meet the market demand in this holiday season. For instance, companies must focus on their warehouse capacity and throughput to optimize their inventory levels without incurring excessive costs.
In the lead-up to the holiday season, retailers cannot fully depend on an expanded workforce to keep up with the demand surge. They need to invest in warehouse technology that provides real-time operational visibility into their warehouse workflow. Effective warehouse management systems are necessary for them to handle a higher volume of individual orders in a tighter delivery window.
In these challenging times, automation is the way forward for increasing the warehouse throughput. With automated workflows, retailers can reduce their dependence on a larger workforce, while continuing to meet the rising consumer demand.
Conclusion
To “win” business and customer loyalty this holiday season, it’s clear that retailers must adapt to the latest trends in personalized shopping and affordability. At the same time, retail warehouse automation is key for efficient order fulfillment.
With its Carte+ automation tool, Cartesian Kinetics can help retailers meet the demands of this holiday season by:
- Improving last-mile and same-day deliveries.
- Improving their warehouse throughput.
- Retrofit their existing distribution centers for improved cost efficiency.
Do you want to reimagine your warehouse operations for the upcoming holiday season? Reach out to our team today!
