INSIGHTS INTO THE 2024 HOLIDAY SHOPPING SEASON

As retailers gear up for the upcoming holiday season, there’s an added urgency: this year’s holiday season is shorter than in previous years, with only 27 days between Black Friday and Christmas Day. 

With less time to capture holiday sales, brands must perfect their peak season strategies, both in-store and online. The shortest holiday season in years can cause many to feel pressured. 

But, not to worry! Industry Dive’s “Insights Into the 2024 Holiday Shopping Season” webinar featured a host of industry experts with recommendations to ensure your peak season is a sweet success.

If you couldn’t make the virtual event, we’re tackling the top insights, tips, and trends to take into this short and sweet holiday season. 

Insight #1 – Customers are set to spend more dwell time in stores

This year, customers are set to spend more dwell time in physical stores, which means retailers have a unique opportunity to profit by offering seamless, engaging in-store experiences. 

According to retail experts Mitchell Goldman (COO of Edgify.ai) and Keith Dipple (Sales Director, Connected Commerce at Planet), brands should aim to delight customers at every opportunity, ensuring no one leaves the store empty-handed. 

The key? Make the most of your space – By positioning high-demand products near the checkout, using clear signing, and strategically grouping products, retailers can tempt shoppers to make additional purchases. 

Overall, the in-store experience should feel just as good as shopping online. Strong branding, tailored customer support, and thoughtful touches like samples or marketing inserts can add to the in-store visit. By creating frictionless experiences, retailers stand to boost customer satisfaction, improve brand loyalty, and encourage shoppers to splurge on special gifts for themselves or others.

Insight #2 – Parcel carrier strategy matters

As peak season rapidly approaches, the ability of retailers to meet demand hinges on effective holiday demand planning and communication with parcel carriers. 

Jonathan Hessney (Founder of OnRout) encourages retailers to remember lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic: proper demand planning, bottlenecks, and delivery delays can disrupt holiday sales. To avoid these issues, working closely with carriers is essential. 

Hessney, along with Ninaad Archarya (Co-Founder/CEO of Fulfillment IQ), suggests strategies to strengthen carrier relationships during the busy season:

1. Share as much data as possible. The more clearly carriers understand your operations, the more effectively they can work with you.
2. Schedule regular check-ins to stay aligned. Treat carriers like an extension of your team.
3. Be flexible with carriers while keeping SLAs clear and manageable.
4. Maintain as many direct contacts as possible—you never know who you’ll need to call for support during peak.

Ultimately, transparency is critical for both carriers and customers. Shoppers appreciate a definite delivery date (e.g., “Delivery by December 18” vs. “2-4 business days”) but it’s important to build in some cushion to account for any potential delays. 

If delays do occur, communicate immediately with customers to reset expectations. Remember, you have one chance to get this right. Repeatedly changing delivery dates can erode trust.

There’s also been increasing emphasis on diversifying carrier mixes, but the question is – does it truly matter? The short answer: if cost is a concern, diversifying is essential to negotiating more favorable rates. 

While surcharges are inevitable during peak season, many carriers are willing to negotiate, especially if you understand their weight and volume thresholds. Being proactive about these details can help you secure better pricing and reduce overall shipping costs.

Insight #3 – Reducing friction for shoppers is a top priority

Peak season success requires the shopping experience to be as effortless as possible. Retailers must prepare to meet shoppers across every platform, whether online, offline, mobile, or in-store. 

With mobile commerce growing rapidly, retailers that haven’t optimized their sites to be mobile-friendly risk losing customers to long load times and poor user experience. 

Additionally, Leslie Lorenz (Head of Retail GTM at Snowflake) highlights that customers increasingly use AI for personalized recommendations, gift ideas, and price comparisons. Retailers can leverage AI to provide customers with tailored shopping experiences, more accurately forecast demand, and offer around-the-clock customer support via chat. 

In tandem with AI-driven personalization, Matt Notes (Senior Director of Product Marketing at Cloudinary) stresses the crucial role digital assets like high-quality product photos and thoughtful videos play in building brand trust. 

Securing consumer confidence can reduce cart abandonment and make customers feel more content with completing their purchases.

Insight #4 – Customers will continue to spend

Despite the global uncertainties of the last few years, consumer spending has remained remarkably resilient. 

According to Gregg Katz (Head, Product Innovation & Marketing at RetailStat) and Meghann Martindale (Principal, Director of Market Intelligence Retail at Avison Young), this is due in part to the relative stability of the U.S. job and debt markets, giving consumers the disposable income for the holiday season. 

While older generations, such as Generation X and Baby Boomers, hold more disposable income, Millennials and Gen Z benefit from fewer financial obligations (like mortgages or caring for dependents), allowing them to prioritize different spending habits.

The evolution of consumer shopping behavior presents a fundamental question: Truly how price-sensitive are today’s shoppers? The answer isn’t straightforward. While most consumers are price-conscious and willing to compromise on some items, they are far less brand-loyal. If a cheaper product matches the quality of their usual choice, they will often opt for the less expensive option.

Trends like resale and experiential retail also reflect changing habits. The rise of resale platforms has tempted retailers to explore ways of incorporating resale models into their business. Meanwhile, younger generations increasingly favor experiences and entertainment as holiday gifts, opening up opportunities for retailers to engage Gen Z and Millennial shoppers earlier in the season with offerings beyond traditional, tangible presents.

Insight #5 – Flexible payment methods are on the rise

Flexibility is a must-have for shoppers, no matter the stage of their customer journey, but no stage is more critical than during checkout. From buy now, pay later (BNPL) to Apple Pay, consumers want options when it comes to how they pay for their products. 

Being unable to accept alternative payment methods such as cash or card can stop a sale. In fact, in 55% of cases where shoppers can’t pay with their preferred method, they will cancel the purchase and leave empty-handed. 

To prepare for the increase in transactions during peak season, Erwin Kersten-Johnston (VP, Unified Commerce at Adyen) encourages retailers to be proactive with their payment processing vendors by communicating expectations and where you’ll need support. 

Remember: Experience is everything, and it’s up to retailers to eliminate any roadblocks that could stop their customers from completing a purchase.

While it may be a shorter holiday season this year, retailers still have the opportunity to nail the most important time of the year. The key to a successful peak season lies in crafting exceptional customer experiences, streamlining communication with external partners, and anticipating customer needs through comprehensive planning. 

By focusing on customer satisfaction through frictionless shopping, flexible delivery options, or seamless online and mobile experiences, retailers can transform the 2024 holiday season into an opportunity to strengthen brand loyalty and boost profits.