Online or Offline? How do customer plan their Christmas shopping? Monogo E-commerce News, #47
Like every year, customers will be buying a lot during the festive season. In fact, we are already in the midst of increased e-commerce traffic. This is something we are all used to. However, unlike in previous years, customers will reduce the number of shops where they shop.
The festive season is a time when we as a software provider in many shops have a so-called freeze. Since mid-October, and already in most cases since November, we do not release updates to production environments. This is because companies do not want the extra risk while they have more traffic and conversions. What has been implemented so far will be in place by the start of the new year. The rest will only be implemented in January.
How are customer preferences changing over the festive period in 2023?
The survey, conducted on a group representing more than 200 million customers, indicates some significant changes from previous years. However, before I go into detail, it is worth mentioning the pandemic surge that is coming to an end. The coronavirus and lockdown led to unimaginable increases in e-commerce. However, this time is behind us and we are seeing stabilisation. Stabilisation not only in online sales increases, but also in a return to normal customer behaviour.
Firstly, 90% of customers intend to buy in stationary shops. This does not mean that they will not buy online. On the contrary. 75% of those surveyed also intend to stock up for Christmas online. This means that consumers will shop in multiple places. This was also the case in 2022. However, this year will see a consolidation. On average, respondents said they will shop at 2.4 shops. This is a significant decrease from 2022, where on average they chose 3.4 goods and services providers.
What do customers expect from retailers?
Of the many expectations that consumers have, there are a few that are starting to become repetitive and can be met quite easily. For customers, especially in a period where it is sometimes hard to predict deliveries, speed of service, availability of goods and the time it takes to shop will be a significant factor in conversion. Where does price come into all this?
Price is, as always, an important element of purchasing decisions. Especially now that we are in a period of inflation. However, when we have Christmas shortages at stake, price starts to matter less.
Customers expect specific payment methods. Payment cards, cash on delivery, fast transfer or the ever-growing buy now pay later payment method. Equipping your online shop with the payment methods that customers expect will certainly make it easier for them to decide to buy from your shop. By using a flexible and popular shop engine such as Magento, you may not even need to do a special implementation project. As Magento has a very extensive catalogue of plug-ins, you will probably only need to install and configure the right one.
The second thing that is important for shoppers is time. The time when they start shopping. This start time keeps shifting and, according to those surveyed, some have already started in August. This means that, business-wise, you may already be configuring certain promotions much earlier, at the end of Q3. 79% intended to start their Christmas shopping earlier, and 51% are doing so because of the first pre-Christmas promotions.
What will be the most popular purchases?
Of the total range available, 63% of respondents said they would buy gift cards. Clothes and footwear are in second place with a score of 56%, followed by toys and games (49%). 45% will buy food and electronics fell at 41%.
It is worth mentioning that online vs offline breaks down roughly the same (41% vs 42%), and click & collect will be chosen by roughly 17%.
Summary
Customers are returning to pre-pandemic buying habits when it comes to the online vs offline split. However, they will shop in fewer shops.
In addition to price and early promotions, it is worth noting the payment methods available, delivery methods and the overall time it takes for customers to order. These aspects can be dealt with fairly easily if a flexible e-commerce engine is used. Ease of navigating the shop is already a UX topic that is also worth addressing sooner rather than later.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed for all sellers during this intense period. Monogo products that can help you survive black friday and the whole period up to Christmas are: Monogo Cloud, Adobe Commerce B2C, UX, AI Media Optimisation.