November 04, 2019 / By mobanmarket
As more and more UK consumers are predicted to leave their Christmas
shopping until the last possible moment in the hopes of scoring the
best prices, online retailers may need to brace themselves for what
could be the busiest December yet.
According to reports from Experian, global information services
company and Shoppercentric, independent shopper research agency, UK
shoppers plan to remain cautious with their holiday spending and
thanks to the increasing level of confidence in delivery services and
‘click and collect’ services and plan on leaving gift buying until
later than ever.
The ‘Experian Festive Insights’ survey found that although retail
discount days such as ‘Black Friday’ and ‘Cyber Monday,’ falling on 28
November and 1 December respectively, are important promotional days for
retailers, they are no longer the busiest days for pre-holiday online
shopping days. The second Monday of December, dubbed ‘Manic Monday’
has stolen the title, as last year’s ‘Manic Monday’ reported a huge
spike in online retail activity and the trend is predicted to continue
this year.
“We believe that the second Monday in December will see a huge amount
of online retail activity this year, potentially at the expense of
‘Cyber Monday,’” commented Nigel Wilson, managing director, consumer
insight for Experian Marketing Services UK and Ireland. “This is
because people are increasingly comfortable leaving their Christmas
shopping later and later, due to growing trust in the ability of
online stores to deliver closer and closer to Christmas.”
According to Experian, UK retailers should be prepared to receive an
even bigger number of online visits than Christmas 2013 and should
place additional emphasis on the quality of their delivery service.
The nearer to Christmas retailers can guarantee online on-time
delivery, the longer the increase in online sales should last.
“Shoppers will be looking to retailers to place an added emphasis on
their delivery services, with clear messaging about distribution.
Brands should be looking to make sure they can offer home delivery as
late as possible in the lead up to Christmas,” added Wilson.
This prediction is backed up by Shoppercentric’s report “Window
On…Spending habits,” which found that 77 percent of 1,000 UK shoppers
surveyed will shop online this holiday season via desktop and laptop.
The report found that 18-34 year old are also more likely to turn to
the internet when shopping for their gifts than in store.
47 percent of shoppers revealed to prefer online shopping in order to
avoid holiday crowds and 30 percent of all shoppers plan on using
click & collect this Christmas, with 25 percent of shoppers agreeing
that click & collect would make a big difference to their shopping
this year. However the survey also found that 44 percent of UK
shoppers say they need to keep to a tight budget this Christmas, with
65 percent adding they would be searching for the best possible price
for gift.
“It’s a make-or-break season for many businesses and with shoppers
looking to squeeze the most value from their Christmas spending and
make every penny count, retailers and brands will need to earn their
custom through keen pricing, genuine added value and by proactively
communicating and selling to potential shoppers and consumers at every
opportunity,” said Danielle Pinnington, Managing Director at
Shoppercentric.
“The rise in popularity of click and collect will help to drive more
shoppers in store and presents retailers with a huge opportunity to
really lay on the ambience, and roll out the tempting displays to play
to their strengths and encourage incremental purchasing. If they could
tempt each of those customers to pick up just one extra item in
addition to their parcel collection, retailers will be able to deliver
a seriously big uplift in sales.”
Experian findings correlate with Shoppercentric predictions and Wilson
adds: “While we are confident in predicting that online activity will
continue later than ever before this year, there will, as there always
does, come a point where shoppers take to the high-street to pick up
those last-minute items. High-street retailers should expect a big
increase in footfall from the second weekend in December onwards.”
Although online shopping is expected to start strong and increase
through out the month of December, as Christmas comes nearer, online
activity is predicted to tail-off and offline footfall numbers are
most likely to increase, as shoppers flocked to the high-street to get
their last minute gifts. “No more so is the divergence in consumer
behaviour more profoundly demonstrated than on Boxing Day, where we
see virtually no footfall and a huge spike in web activity, as people
start looking for post-Christmas bargains online,” concluded Experian.
Boxing Day, which falls on December 26, is set to become the single
biggest online shopping day of the year, for the seventh consecutive
year with UK internet users expected to make 129 million visit to
retail sites.
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