For the first time ever, Deloitte is predicting that the eCommerce holiday shopping is going to outperform in-store spending. This prediction comes from a survey of more than 5000 US consumers, which asked a number of questions related to their planned holiday shopping.
In the end, they found that 51% of dollars spent on holiday shopping will be generated online, 42% in stores, and 3% ‘other.’ In 2016, spending was evenly split with 47% online and 47% in stores, with the remaining coming from other options.
The survey does break down how the online spending will occur. 36% is expected to take place on desktops and laptops, 10% from smartphones, and 5% from tablets.
When asked about what people are looking for when shopping, the breakdown gives some good insights for what marketers should be focused on.
- Ease of Searching – 79% of online shoppers said this was important to them, and 64% of in-store shoppers responded that way.
- Quality of Products – 76% of online shoppers and 64% of in-store shoppers listed this as one of their top concerns.
- Variety of Products – 76% of online shoppers and 62% of in-store shoppers rated this as a top concern.
- Hard to Find Items – Having hard to find items available is something that 57% of online shoppers and 41% of in-store shoppers listed.
It isn’t likely going to be a surprise to anyone that eCommerce is quickly becoming the most popular way for people to shop online, especially for the holidays. Things like physical gifts can be located and purchased online in just minutes, and you don’t need to worry about battling the huge crowds. In addition, the long-time benefit of getting the ‘best deals’ in stores is no longer a concern. Online retailers often push extremely competitive sales to keep people clicking rather than going to a store in person.
