Holiday Shopping Trends 2022: By the Numbers
Reading the tea leaves on the state of retail transformation based on early results from the Thanksgiving weekend
Following two pandemic holiday seasons riddled with public health concerns and supply chain issues, a lot is riding on this year’s holiday shopping season for brands and retailers alike. Despite looming concerns about inflation and economic downturn, consumers still seemed ready to spend and shop, but in smarter ways that save them time and money.
Thanksgiving Sales Hit Record High
Early results from this past Thanksgiving weekend plus Cyber Monday show a promising outlook for this holiday shopping season. Overall, 196.7 million consumers shopped over the long weekend, 17 million people more than in 2021, per polling data from the National Retail Federation (NRF).
The NRF survey also found that the majority of those shoppers — 123 million — shopped in stores over the weekend, up 17% over last year. 80% of U.S. consumers plan to shop during the five-day holiday period (Thanksgiving through Monday), up from 71% last year, per a Deloitte holiday shopping survey.
Ecommerce Kept Growing, But Slower
Ecommerce continues to be the key growth driver for holiday sales, albeit at a slower year-over-year growth rate. Overall, consumers spent a record $9.12 billion shopping online during Black Friday this year, and online sales jumped 2.3% year-over-year, according to Adobe Analytics data.
Notably, Both Amazon and Meta recorded best-ever sales numbers as shoppers looked for money-saving deals. In particular, Amazon reported on Wednesday that it hit record-breaking sales in the five-day period beginning Thanksgiving Day and ending on Cyber Monday, but did not provide an overall sales number, except that independent businesses selling on Amazon surpassed $1 billion in sales during the holiday weekend.
Convenience continues to be a key factor for people to shop online, as well as the drive for hunting for a good deal. According to 84.51°’s 2022 holiday outlook, over half (57%) of shoppers are looking for sales, deals, and coupons more often this year.
Many Chose to “Buy Now, Pay Later”
Perhaps as a response to the looming economic concerns, many holiday shoppers turned to Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services to spread out their holiday shopping bills. Usage of BNPL services increased by 78% compared with the past week, beginning Nov. 19, per Adobe data.
In fact, easy installment buying facilitated by BNPL services likely encouraged consumers to spend more than they can afford. Nearly 46% of shoppers said that they would spend less if BNPL wasn’t an option, CNBC reports, citing data from Cardify. The NRF estimates the average U.S. family will spend about $1,000 on Christmas gifts this year.
However, considering that about 30% consumers who used BNPL services say they struggled to pay off the installments, it would seem that some holiday shoppers may be confronted with the task of paying off their holiday splurges over the next few months.
Retailers Doubled Down on TV & Emails
Retailers leaned down on email and TV, two tried-and-true conventional media channels, during the Thanksgiving weekend, according to data released by CM Group and television analytics firm iSpot. CM Group’s marketing technology powered more than 1.5 billion emails between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, with daily averages up 80%. Meanwhile, iSpot data found that national TV ad spend around Black Friday & Cyber Monday sales was up 6.4% YoY.
However, it is important to note that iSpot also found that overall impressions for those holiday sales campaigns were down 4.6% YoY, indicating that TV ad spending is getting more expensive at a crucial time where brands are trying to reach shoppers, but also less efficient at reaching them, especially the younger generations.
Instead of emails and TV, retailers should consider meeting younger holiday shoppers where they already reside — on social channels. Research by McKinsey found that 87% of Gen Z shoppers will turn to social media for holiday gift inspiration, making social presence and shoppable content very important.
Long-Term Outlook: Cautiously Optimistic
Overall, the 2022 holiday season is shaping up better than some of the negative headlines seemed to dictate, given the positive sales numbers of the past weekend. Consumer spending remains strong at brick-and-mortar and shows renewed vigor in the online channels. In response, enhancing reliability and smoothing out the customer experience could be key to making sure the holiday season stay on the positive side for both shoppers and retailers.
Looking ahead, retailers and brands remain cautiously optimistic about the rest of the holiday season, Digiday’s survey of 32 brand and retail professionals found that the majority of respondents expect revenue to increase over last year, but only slightly. 38% of respondents to Digiday’s survey said that holiday revenue will be up only slightly this year, coming in at between 1% and 10% higher than last year. Only 6% of retail experts surveyed said they expect 2022 holiday revenue to increase between 11% and 30% over 2021. Interestingly, no one responded that they think holiday revenue will be down by more than 30% this year compared with last year.
