Newly released research suggests that the 2018 peak shopping period, between 1st October and 24th December, is likely to see 10 per cent more items delivered, with more Australians doing their holiday shopping online.
CouriersPlease saw 10 per cent increases during 2016 and 2017’s peak shopping periods, and is forecasting the same period during 2018 to be even bigger.
This data echoes what Adobe revealed in its shopping predictions for the 2018 holiday season, noting that Australian retail is likely to see similar growth to what is expected in the US; a 14.8 per cent increase in online, totalling US$124.1 billion, with offline retailing expected to increase by a modest 2.7 per cent.
“As we head into one of the busiest and most lucrative shopping periods of the year, it is critical that Australian retailers are setting themselves up for success,” Adobe head of transformation Scott Rigby said.
“The 2018 holiday shopping predictions reflect a very similar retail landscape to ours here in Australia and with US online sales expected to increase by double digits this holiday season, we expect there will also be a significant increase in Australian online sales.”
Rigby noted that retailers with an online and offline footprint are more likely to see a significant increase in sales conversions over the Christmas period.
“Many shoppers want to interact with retailers’ products and the brand in-store, and the ability to pick up online orders in-store within a matter of hours can’t be underestimated,” Adobe head of marketing and customer insights John Copeland said.
“Adobe Analytics data anticipates shoppers increasingly buying online and picking up items in-store during the holiday season… [which] has increased 119 per cent since January 2018 across all retailers and over 250 per cent for large retailers.”
The Adobe report also points out that social referral traffic is beginning to decline in importance for retailers, generating 11 per cent less revenue-per-visit compared to Q4 2016, and being the only marketing channel to see a decline in RPV attributed to the weakening trust in social networks.
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