Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas and New Year’s – the 2022 holiday season is upon us and it’s time to get ready, check your campaigns, verticals and budgets, and make sure you are prepared for the big rush.
We’ve already created a comprehensive holiday marketing guide for you, but we also wanted to beef it up with some data and statistics. Here’s some interesting stats regarding the holiday shopping season of 2022, including eCommerce, email marketing, shopper’s behavior and more.
Holiday retail sales reached $789.4 billion in 2021, despite the lingering COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, experts predict retail sales will reach up to $1.47 trillion. Online holiday sales are expected to grow by 11-15% year-over-year.
According to eMarketer, eCommerce sales will reach 16.3% of all retail sales in 2022.
Where do shoppers spend most of their money? According to Deloitte, the retail categories that lead the spending are accessories and clothing (21%), gift cards (19%), and food and beverages (14%). Fashion is as hot as ever, boys and girls! Technology rules, too: on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Amazon’s best-selling products were all technology items.
Email marketing is still a powerful tool in Christmas of 2022, so you can still use it for great results. In 2019, for example, 68% of shoppers said they pay more attention to emails from companies during the holidays. Shoppers are looking for gift ideas and special offers – so reach out and give them what they want. Make sure your emails display well on mobile phones, because 42% of shoppers delete non-optimized emails for mobile devices.
Whether we like it or not, social media influencers carry a lot of… influence over the buyers – especially the younger crowd. 69% of shoppers who are 25-34 years old, say online influencers give them inspiration for holiday gifts. It’s not just influencers, but social media in general – 23% of Christmas US shoppers use social media when they are making purchase decisions. Social commerce sales are expected to increase by 25% in 2022.
Be prepared for an influx of incoming messages, though. The projected increase in social media messages businesses will receive this year is 27% for Instagram, 19% on Twitter and 7% on Facebook. Response rates are on the decline, due to manpower shortages, but customers are impatient, so consider that when planning your holiday campaign. Make sure your social media team and customer service teams are prepared to handle the increased volume of messages.
85% of buyers prefer free shipping, and just 15% prefer fast shipping. Free shipping is a great selling point, and it’s a good idea to emphasize it in your campaigns.
Inflation and other financial woes mean that some shoppers will cut back on their spending. This isn’t to say they won’t spend at all, it just means they’ll buy differently. 53% of consumers plan to make smaller but more considerate purchases as gifts during their Christmas shopping. Think personal, intimate and interesting – that’s what the buyers want.