With consumer spending remaining solid, the overall forecast for 2022 holiday season shopping will be better than expected. Still, fears of recession and rising inflation amidst supply chain woes weigh heavy on shoppers’ minds. This year, 60% of consumers will rely on gift cards to fill gaps in product availability and combat high prices. But to grow the bottom … Continued
Online merchants rely on increased sales during holiday seasons to boost their revenue—and the back-to-school season is no different. This year, college students in the US are expected to spend over $70B , exceeding recent years’ spending. The return to the classroom bodes sales lifts for retailers across many sectors, including apparel, electronics, household supplies, … Continued
Every autumn, our Insights team combs through piles of data to try to come up with an analysis of consumer trends for the upcoming holiday season. This year, however, poses some obvious challenges. In the latest episode of our podcast, Emilie Grunzweig, Director of Insights, walks us through how she approached this task in … Continued
To say that 2020 has not been a typical year is both an understatement and a cliché. The past eight months saw COVID-19 change nearly every aspect of our lives, from how we work and study, to our travel, to our social interactions. In retail terms, the pandemic upended consumer behaviors and priorities, making availability, … Continued
Recent months saw the global COVID-19 pandemic completely change the way we live, work, interact, and buy. With the virus expected to be part of our lives for the unforeseeable future, we are looking at a completely different holiday season. For many, Zoom meetups will replace big family gatherings, and an uncertain economic climate will … Continued
In a highly competitive business landscape, it’s important for eCommerce merchants to identify and capitalize on new growth engines. In the past year, Russia and many of its neighboring countries exhibited the highest eCommerce growth in Europe, and Eastern Europe became the fourth largest eCommerce market in the world. Estonia showed a 35% hike in … Continued
The holidays are only a few weeks away, and fraud teams are gearing up for yet another record-breaking season; sales forecasts call for a 10% to 16.6% volume increase over last year. To help fraud teams prepare for the order surge, we took a close look at last year’s holiday shopping and fraud patterns. Here’s … Continued
Christmas time is widely recognized as one of the biggest online shopping periods of the year. Online sales are expected to exceed $90 billion this holiday season in the US alone. Yet despite the significant resources businesses invest in preparation for these busy weeks, heightened competition and growing consumer expectations make it harder for retailers … Continued
Holidays are traditionally all about family, food, and community. But there’s a new kid on the block, a modern holiday centered not around family, but around bachelorhood. Single’s Day is held annually on November 11, or 11/11 – glorifying the digit 1. Branded a major cyber holiday by China’s eCommerce giant Alibaba in 2009, it has … Continued