Consumer spend rises during the holiday season. The stats gathered in this topic clearly show that. You can use the customer interest and increase sales. We collected some information on which shopping categories and products to focus on this Christmas Season to increase profit.
Order a load testing service. We will provide a detailed report and recommendations on how to eliminate
the bottlenecks to keep the store available
even at peak times.
Christmas and New Year Holiday Season in the U.S.: Stats & Facts
Statista says that:
- As of April 2020, online shoppers in the United States bought more health, food, and beverage products.
- Online pharmacy, health, or beauty products raised from 38 percent to 44 percent in online purchases.
- Household supplies got a 7 percent increase: from 30 percent to 37 percent.
- Food and beverage products went from 27 percent to 36 percent.
- The eCommerce share of total retail revenue in the United States as of May 2020 accounted for 62.7 percent of retail revenues in the books, music, and video segment.
The popularity of these product categories with U.S. consumers was triggered by the Coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns. This trend will remain the same in the holiday season 2020-2021.
In March 2020, 88.05 percent of online shopping orders were abandoned. Automotive had the highest cart abandonment rates out of all measured categories with an 96.88 percent abandonment rate. There are many reasons why consumers end up abandoning their orders. For digital shoppers in the United States, the main reason is too high shipping costs, and the discount codes that do not work. So, if your target market is the U.S. one, focus on elaborating the right delivery strategy and the correct work of any promotional features on your site.
Christmas and New Year Holiday Season in the UK: Stats & Facts
Boxing Day sales in the UK usually last for over a week. They start a few days before Christmas, on December 23, and continue till the January and New Year sales. That means that consumers in the UK have almost a month of discounts through Christmas and into late January.
Statistics show that sales at Christmas in the UK reached a total of 83.1 billion British pounds in 2019. In 2020, right before the announcement of the second lockdown in the UK, Christmas season sales were predicted to reach 84.5 billion British pounds. The latest forecasts revised this value to 73.5 billion GBP.
The value of online retail sales made during the Christmas season in 2020 is expected to grow.
Christmas budget in the U.S. and U.K. as of 2022
To help you understand the situation going on around eCommerce during Christmas and New Year Eve, we have summed up some of the most important statistics on the subject:
U.S.: $998
Spending on holiday gifts and other holiday expenses for an average U.S. consumer has increased over the previous year. For 2020, the U.S. citizens expect to spend $998 on gifts, holiday items, and other expenses during the holiday season, down $50 from 2019.
U.K.: £476
Based on the stats of November 2020, an average British citizen will allot £476 on Christmas gifts in 2020. It is £37 less than the £513 average in 2019. As a whole, £24.2 billion will go on festive gifts this year in the UK.
What items to sell in winter holidays 2022
Some marketing agencies predict the following items the will sell more during Christmas 2020:
- Pet Products
- Wireless and Bluetooth Products
- Shapewear/”BodyCon” Apparel
- Travel Accessories
- Smartphone Add-ons
- Health and Beauty Items
- Car Accessories
- Jewelry and Non-Apparel Fashion
Amazon names the following best Christmas gifts:
- Christmas lights
- Christmas tree
- Christmas crackers
- Christmas Wreath Decorations
Exploring the Google Trends Worldwide you will find these products people want to buy for Christmas:
- PlayStation 5 – Playstation Console
- Xbox Series and Series S – Xbox console
- Hoodie
- Christmas card
- DVD – film format
- Apple Watch
- Christmas decoration
- Christmas lights
Taking into account the COVID-19 restrictions, one can say that electronic and downloadable products will gain more popularity as they can be easier purchased and delivered. Other products that still gain traction are:
- Bread Machines
- Cough and cold
- Soups
- Dried grains and rice
- Packaged Foods
- Fruit Cups
- Weight Training
- Milk and cream
- Dishwashing Supplies
- Paper Towels
- Hand Soap and sanitizer
- Pasta
- Vegetables
- Flour
- Facial Tissues
- Allergy Medicine
- Women’s Health
- Cereals
- Power Generators
What are the characteristics of best selling Christmas items?
Not all shopping categories and items will gain the same traction during the Christmas season. Different products have different characteristics defining whether they outperform other categories or not in the holiday times.
Below are some features that make a product ideal for online sales during the Christmas and New Year Eve holiday season:
Giftable
As Christmas is all about giving gifts, a winning Christmas product is often giftable. Some examples of giftable items are jewelry, candles, games, toys, bath bombs, and books.
If you run a store or a marketplace with a wide variety of products, consider adding an option to buy digital gift cards.
In 2020, roughly 50 percent of U.S. consumers plan to buy gift cards or gift certificates. After Christmas and New Year’s Eve, retail sales usually peak again in January as many people redeem their received Christmas gift cards and vouchers. It is a popular gifting option as it can be in electronic format which is very convenient due to social distancing recommendation.
Unique
Unusual items have the potential to receive a lot of sales during Christmas. People don’t like giving standard gifts. They would rather purchase something genuine, special to gift someone!
Personalized
Products can be personalized in multiple ways: adding custom texts, photos, or colors to the product.
Marketing tips to win the Christmas Sale!
- The period between December 15th and December 24th will account for 40% of all Christmas sales. Assign a large part of your marketing budget to your Christmas products to be spent between December 15th and December 24th.
- Pay extra attention to build and refine your Christmas season marketing emails.
- Make sure you apply price discounts to your Christmas products and ensure free shipping on your online store.
- The last thing to mention is that online spending this year will likely be higher because of the current situation. More people will purchase Christmas gifts online instead of going to shopping malls. So, it’s great for eCommerce business, don’t miss this chance to make your online business better!