The Top Holiday eCommerce Trends For 2018

Popular Trends for the Holiday Season

The holiday season is quickly approaching, and online sellers are already preparing for the influx of holiday shoppers. If you are preparing for the holiday shopping season, it might be a good idea to get an idea of how this shopping season will be different from last year’s. Prepare for the holiday shopping season by checking out some big trends that are expected to make a strong impact this year.

eCommerce Sales Are Going Up

Pile of Coins

While many people still visit shops during the holidays, the amount of people who shop online for gifts is steadily increasing. According to Digital Commerce 360, it is believed that U.S. shoppers will spend $119.99 billion during the 2018 holiday season. This is a 15.5% increase over the previous year’s total of $103.88 billion, and this is definitely a strong jump up.

As the eCommerce industry continues to grow, more people are adapting by making more purchases online. According to an Internet Retailer survey conducted earlier in the year, 76% of shoppers from the United States said they bought around 25% of their gifts from online shops. Online retailers can make it big during the holiday season, so long as they are prepared.

Mobile Will Likely Dominate

Man Using Smartphone

Shopping on mobile has been on the rise over the past few years, and this trend will only go up during the 2018 holiday season. According to comScore, shoppers spent around $31.8 billion on gifts during Q4 2017 through the use of tablets, phones, and other mobile devices. Though not all shoppers make purchases on mobile devices, many use them to compare prices and see what items are currently in stock. As a result, mobile usage plays an important role in the holiday shopping season.

As the amount of mobile shoppers continues to grow, some are expecting mobile purchases to overtake desktop purchases for the first time this year. Many outlets, including Salesforce, expect mobile users to account for 68% of the eCommerce visits made at the end of the year. Whether or not this ends up being true, the point to take away is that you must optimize your site for mobile users if you want to succeed during the holidays.

Branding & Savings for Shipping Boxes

Another trend that is expected to pick up over the holidays is the use of shipping boxes for the purposes of branding. Custom shipping boxes are easier to afford nowadays, and they can help personalize any orders you ship out. Personalization helps make an impression on buyers, and if you make a strong enough impression you can draw those people back in after the holidays.

If you can avoid buying unnecessarily large boxes, you can save a lot of money on this process. In addition, you can also personalize the inside of a box by including information about sales or a personal thank you note to new clients. Make a strong impression on your customers so they come back long after the holiday season concludes

Customers Expect Faster Shipping

Shipping Truck

Faster shipping times continue to be a crucial part of the holiday shopping season. Buyers need to have their products before holidays like Christmas arrive, and online sellers are expected to ship items quickly as a result. As major online retailers continue to deliver products in record time, smaller companies are expected to keep up.

When deciding on a warehouse to partner with, make sure you select one with an ideal location so you can quickly deliver products to a wide selection of people. If you have a physical location, same-day pickup might be a smart option to include for last-minute shoppers. No matter what you do, if you can get products into shoppers’ hands faster you will be much better off during the holidays.

Need help preparing for the holiday shopping season? We have gathered some tips and tricks you can use to prepare for this busy period.