Everyone knows that promotions around Christmas and the New Year go hand in hand, regardless of the marketing channel. With consumer spending at its peak, brands need to be promoting their products as much as possible. According to ComScore, 30 percent of retail ecommerce consumer spending took place in the fourth quarter in 2012, with a majority concentrated in the second half.
Browsing: holiday sales
Thanksgiving online sales totaled $1.06 billion in the U.S., according to Adobe Systems, which analyzed 180 million visits to more than 1,000 U.S. retail websites. Revenue for leading online retailers rose nearly 40 percent from last year, ecommerce firm Monetate reports. The increases included a 73.6 percent rise in revenue from shoppers using tablets, a 50.7 percent rise in sales to smartphone users, and a 39.8 percent increase in revenues via laptop and desktop computers.
Holidays are a time for cheer. A recent survey reveals B2C small businesses planning their holiday marketing strategies will have something to cheer about come 2014!
Free shipping is an enticing promotion that more and more retailers are offering year round, according to a new survey from Shop.org, the online retail arm of the National Retail Federation. Nearly 35 percent of respondents say they already offer free shipping all year long, compared with 23.1 percent who did so a year earlier. In the survey involving 91 retailers, 16.3 percent had planned to begin offering free shipping as a holiday promotion the last week in October.
It is important to jump on the holiday bandwagon as early as possible. This Holiday Campaign Planning Guide offers a comprehensive strategy to make sure your campaigns are in tip-top shape as you head into the holiday season.
Each passing day is bringing you closer to the busiest shopping season of the year. Last year, online sales reached over $54.5 billion in November and December, according to eMarketer. The National Retail Federation expects a 13 percent increase in online retail sales this year. It is important to plan for Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the last minute Christmas Bonanza as early as possible.
Shop.org expects online holiday sales in November and December to grow from 13 to 15 percent over the 2012 holiday season to as much as $82 billion. “Online and mobile continue to be a leading area of growth for retailers. In this economy, savvy, cost-conscious consumers go to the web to do their research and get the best bang for their buck,” said NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay.
Independent Retailer magazine recently spoke with Rob Caskey, VP of Marketing and Direct Sales for Liquidity Services’ Retail Supply Chain Group, which includes the Liquidation.com and Secondipity.com marketplaces. Caskey oversees all marketing, branding and customer acquisition activities for these marketplaces, as well as leading the direct sales division.
At this time of year, pop-up holiday gift and Halloween stores are helping commercial landlords fill in retail vacancy gaps and serve their customers with relevant seasonal products. These temporary relationships offer a way for business owners to dip their feet in the retail waters without being on the hook all year. No matter what type of business you run, you should create a seasonal strategy and set sales goals early in the year.
Small Business Saturday is November 30, 2013. The event began in 2010 as a tiny initiative by American Express to encourage consumers to shop at locally owned stores, and has manifested into a national movement. Falling each year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Small Business Saturday was created to help independent businesses compete with the rush of big-box sales during Black Friday and Cyber Monday.