To capture your share of holiday retail spend, think mobile and social.
By Rieva Lesonsky
Holiday shopping is not going to be business as usual this year. Instead, look for shoppers to be more “mobile-driven and social media-influenced,” reports eMarketer Retail. To add to the good news, PwC says this year’s holiday shopping season is likely to be the best since 2005, with 84% of consumers saying they’ll spend the same as or more than last year (2017 average spend: $1,250).
But to cash in on this demand, small retailers need to think multichannel. The PWC study reports 75% of internet users will shop both online and in-store, and these multichannel shoppers will spend more—an average spend of $1,379, compared to an average of $1,075 for online-only shoppers and $742 for those who shop exclusively in stores.
Another key to attracting shoppers is adopting mobile technologies, which eMarketer Retail says are likely to play a larger role this year, especially among younger shoppers. Do you offer mobile payments? You need to, since 24% of consumers plan to use mobile payments in-store this season.
Social shopping is also having a moment. Last year, a holiday survey from PayPal showed only 28% of U.S. internet users (ages 18 to 55) would consider purchasing through social media while holiday shopping, according to eMarketer, and 53% weren’t interested at all. However, a PWC survey, also from last year, revealed “social platforms were highly influential with teens and Gen Z,” so if they’re your target market, social selling could work for you.
The social platforms are trying to make this happen. According to eMarketer, “Both Snapchat and Instagram are trying to monetize Stories. Instagram is reportedly working on a standalone shopping app, and Snapchat launched a visual search feature in partnership with Amazon last week.”
Shopping stock photo by gpointstudio/Shutterstock
