2018 Holiday Season Expectations: Could Tariffs Halt Spending or Will Consumers Ready Their Wallets?

October 4, 2018 Jeff Meola

It’s not time for consumers to focus on holiday shopping just yet, but retailers have already been analyzing the market. With tariffs in place and mobile commerce on the rise, what will the holiday shopping season look like this year?

When and How Much Consumers Will Buy this Holiday Season

Retailers are expecting to pull in more than $1.1 trillion this holiday season, which lasts from November until January, a growth of 5-5.6% from last year’s numbers.

A new report from Salesforce predicts nearly half of all holiday shopping will occur during Cyber Week, the Tuesday before Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, a 21% growth from last year. The rest of holiday shopping will continue gradually through January.

Online Holiday Shopping Enhanced with Mobile

E-commerce sales are expected to reach $128 to $134 billion during this year’s holiday season, a 17-22% increase from last year, according to the Deloitte forecast.

And more consumers will shop online this year than ever before. Bazaarvoice reported that with 89% of consumers shopping for the holidays online, 56% buy more than half of their gifts digitally and 30% of consumers say they will shop online more this year than last year.

Plus, during this holiday season, mobile will be the desired avenue for 68% of e-commerce traffic, up 19% from last year.

In-Store Holiday Shopping Provides Festive Experience

While consumers have been gravitating toward online shopping, 42% of holiday shoppers go to stores specifically for the ambiance. Many consumers feel the holiday season won’t be complete without meeting Santa Claus, listening to holiday tunes or browsing classic window displays.

Tariffs Won’t Stop Holiday Shoppers this Season

With the government’s new proposed tariffs on Chinese imports, a wave of nerves impacted the holiday market, but most retailers aren’t likely to raise prices until 2019.

eMarketer predicts retailers will keep prices low through the holiday season to encourage sales, but this could be the last of low prices on imports from China. For example, the National Retail Federation predicts an increase of 23% on TVs and an increase of 25% on apparel come 2019.

Get ready to hang the lights and spread holiday cheer this season, because the holiday market will be booming, whether it’s online or in-store.

Reimagining your marketing win?

Contact Digital Media Solutions today to vamp up your holiday campaigns.

About the Author

Jeff Meola is the Consumer Insights & Marketing Analytics Director at Digital Media Solutions (DMS), the fastest-growing independent digital performance marketing company. DMS helps its clients accelerate growth by deploying diversified and data-driven customer acquisition solutions that deliver scalable, sustainable and measurable marketing results. DMS performance marketing solutions connect the right consumers with the right offers at the right time to achieve the marketing objectives of our clients. DMS is continually innovating to provide new and emerging media and technology solutions that minimize waste and maximize results across the most competitive industries. Since its inception, DMS has demonstrated incredible year-over-year growth which has earned recognition on the Inc. 5000 list in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.
Follow on Linkedin Visit Website More Content by Jeff Meola

DMS Insights: Seasonal Advertising News

Digital Advertising Innovation Inspiration

2018 Holiday Season Expectations: Could Tariffs Halt Spending or Will Consumers Ready Their Wallets?

When and How Much Consumers Will Buy this Holiday Season

Online Holiday Shopping Enhanced with Mobile

In-Store Holiday Shopping Provides Festive Experience

Tariffs Won’t Stop Holiday Shoppers this Season

Reimagining your marketing win?

About the Author

Previous Article

Next Article

2018 Holiday Season Expectations: Could Tariffs Halt Spending or Will Consumers Ready Their Wallets?

When and How Much Consumers Will Buy this Holiday Season

Online Holiday Shopping Enhanced with Mobile

In-Store Holiday Shopping Provides Festive Experience

Tariffs Won’t Stop Holiday Shoppers this Season

Reimagining your marketing win?

About the Author

Previous Article

Next Article

Other content in this Stream

Top alcohol brands are leveraging digital advertising strategies to reinvent the ways they connect with consumers this holiday season.

This holiday season, strategic partnerships are helping brands gain consumers, increasing engagement and ecommerce sales across a wider audience.

CPG brands and grocery retailers are forming strategic partnerships to offer Thanksgiving dinner insurance.

Promotional day sales are still very lucrative for retailers, even in a year when online shopping is already booming.

A recent DMS survey that asked consumers how they intend to do their holiday shopping this year found an increased reliance on omnichannel retail options.

Due to increased time spent at home and evolving consumer interests, gadgets - both traditional and relevant to today’s climate - are in high demand.

The pandemic has caused several waves of new shopping trends among audiences, with the latest shift showing increased interest in categories like toys, furniture, electronics and more.

China’s Singles Day is increasing in popularity as ecommerce grows and digital technologies generate engagement and sales.

Thanksgiving traditions may be different this year, but digital solutions are allowing people to shop, celebrate and enjoy the holiday in new ways.

Amazon, Kohls, Etsy and Peloton are leaning heavily on their digital channels this holiday season to connect with consumers emotionally and to alert them to sales events throughout the season.

Consumer interest in health and wellness products continues to benefit dietary supplement brands, with studies showing that more people are investing in their physical and mental wellbeing.

The consumer shift toward online offerings has continued to hasten, leading many industry professionals to predict a spike in ecommerce transactions during the holiday season.

The holiday shopping season is gearing up to be an online-heavy event, causing many traditional brick-and-mortar retailers to invest in their ecommerce offerings and overall presence.

Digital ad spend continues to prove its worth as consumers’ expectations surrounding the media and brands shift during the pandemic.

This year’s holiday advertisements will probably look a little different, but we found six classic and innovative commercials that still resonate in 2020.

Brands are connecting with parents this Halloween to provide tools, resources and activities for safe but spooky alternative celebrations.

As consumers seek comfort, CPG brands Kraft, Hostess and STōK have introduced pumpkin flavored products to grocery shelves to attract audiences, boost engagement and drive sales this fall.

Major retailers like Target, Walmart and Amazon are strengthening their presence in the toy industry with innovative launches and partnerships, just in time for the holiday shopping rush.

The Medicare Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) is an opportunity for brands to reach audiences who want to change their Medicare Advantage options or prescription plans.

As consumers continue gravitating toward online and mobile options for their shopping needs, Instagram has broadened its shopping features to IGTV and Reels.