These are busy times for cashback, e-commerce and online shopping sites. We’re here with current news updates and a roundup of holiday retail sales to help you get quickly caught up on the latest happenings. And we thought women were the big spenders online? Tryzens research says it’s the guys that spend $348 more online than women. A new EU cap on banking fees has negatively impacted Nectar and Tesco Clubcard shopper value points and may spread to other cashback cards and programs. ChannelAdvisor reports Amazon November sales are up 6.5% over October, eBay up 2.6% and Google 8.8% better. Alter Agents cofounder Rebecca Brooks says millennials are driving changes in shopping trends though they still are looking for value.
Millennials will be spending more – $849 this year – though still less when compared to the average of $1,069 for older generations. Millennials will also be more willing to try new brands according to The Boston Consulting Group. The International Council of Shopping Centers reports that more than 600 million-plus US shoppers will visit stores by Christmas, an average of 6.5 times per week and will spend $30 billion a week in sales. Oh, and while you’re shopping for millennials, you might want to know that 40% of them prefer gift cards says Stored Value Solutions.
UK Female Digital Shoppers Are Big Browsers but Smaller Spenders
June 2015 research from ecommerce marketing platform Bronto found that female digital shoppers in the UK spent more time shopping digitally than their male counterparts—7.47 hours per month vs. 6.97 hours. That’s one stereotype confirmed, then, isn’t it? The Bronto research certainly suggests that females are bigger digital shopping browsers than their male counterparts. However, July 2015 data from digital solutions provider Tryzens indicated that the stereotype stops there.
Not only did the research find that young millennials were less digital than most when it came to buying online, but also that male digital buyers outstripped females by some distance each month when it came to spend. The average monthly amount spent on digital purchases monthly was £686 ($1,130) for males and just £475 ($782) for females. Via emarketer.com
Credit card cashback threatened: EU cap on fees comes in today with bonus schemes set to suffer as a result
A cap on credit and debit card fees could see cashback and rewards schemes slashed, experts are warning. Shoppers looking to build up bonuses while doing their Christmas shopping need to pick their plastic wisely.
A new EU cap comes into force today which will limit the amount credit and debit card providers can charge retailers for transactions. It is widely expected they will cut cashback and bonus schemes as a result. Already, Nectar and Tesco Clubcard users have seen the value of their points cut. Via thisismoney.co.uk
Amazon Unleashes Holiday Deals, Says Cowen; Electronics a Holiday Winner, Says Citi
ChannelAdvisor found growth in “same-store sales” for Amazon for the month of November was 22.9%, up from 16.4% growth in October. eBay saw a smaller boost to 5.6% growth from the 3% of the prior month, and Google’s “PLA,” product listings, experienced same-store growth of 42.4%, up from 31.6% in October.
If you’re wondering how some of that growth has come about, analysts with Cowen & Co. and Citigroup have some answers today. Cowen’s John Blackledge and his colleagues who follow parcel services FedEx (FDX) and UPS (UPS), and retailers, note that there’s been a “surge” in online buying this season, with FedEx hiring “55k holiday workers this year, in line with last year, with the company anticipating shipping demand to increase +12.4% y/y during the peak season.” Via blogs.barrons.com
Christmas Shopping on Its Ear: Why We Aren’t Following the Retail Rules
What’s driving the changes afoot in shopping habits? Experts like Rebecca Brooks, co-founder of marketing and research firm Alter Agents says you can thank the millennials.
She says, “The trends we are seeing among consumers is being driven in great part by millennials. We [Alter Agents] have been discussing that consumers still want ‘value’ but the definition of ‘value’ has changed dramatically in the last five years. Pre-recession, value was about getting the most quantity for your money. Cheap products at Wal-Mart, huge meals at Olive Garden, etc. The recession reminded us that our money is not disposable and the things we purchase shouldn’t be disposable either. In addition to the financial wake-up, the world is changing dramatically in terms of how people define happiness and value.”
The recent Black Friday proved that many upper and middle-class Americans, from millennials to baby boomers, view it as the annual CNN reel side show to see how the lower classes clamor for loss leader limited stock deals. If the data is to be analyzed, this way of shopping is something to be looked down upon by more and more people who value their time over “the experience” of finding a deal. But people still do shop, and most – if not all – shoppers love getting value for their money. How they do it, and for what reasons, are the changing variables. Via monstersandcritics.com
Millennials Expect to Spend More This Holiday
When compared to older generations, Millennials said they’re planning to dole out more money this holiday season than they spent last year, according to a recent survey from The Boston Consulting Group. Moreover, BCG said Millennials will “be more daring” in their purchases by shopping more for new brands. Still, the total amount Millennials plan on spending will be less than older generations.
In regard to types of products, the poll showed Millennials will be seeking out fashion apparel first followed by consumer electronics, entertainment and then beauty products. “Millennials report that their favorite brands include Old Navy, Apple and Netflix, and emerging favorites are H&M and Samsung,” the researchers said in their report. Via wwd.com
Over 600-Million Consumers to visit Nation’s Shopping Centers prior to Christmas Day
While mobile technology has greatly changed the way consumers shop, what has remained constant is the fact that consumer do the vast majority of their shopping at shopping centers with 83 percent of U.S. consumers visiting a shopping center at least once a week, including 92 percent of the most tech-savvy consumers, 18-24 year olds. These young consumers visit shopping centers on average 10.8 times a week.
“Although it may seem counter-intuitive that the most wired consumer, Millennials between the ages of 18-24, spend the most time at shopping centers, today’s shopping centers are more than places to simply buy goods and services as they have incorporated a multitude of dining and entertainment venues into their tenant mix. Combined with the fact that shopping is no longer a choice between clicks and bricks but rather an omni-channel journey that often leads to fulfillment at a physical store, it is not surprising that consumers visit shopping centers so often,” explained Mr. McGee.
An earlier survey conducted by ICSC over the Black Friday weekend substantiates the importance of the physical store to the omnichannel shopping experience. The survey found that 40 percent of Thanksgiving Day shoppers made a purchase online from a retailer with a physical presence and picked up that item in store. Nearly one-third (32 percent) of Black Friday shoppers did the same, which gives a combined 34 percent for both days. More importantly, about 6 in 10 shoppers bought more items once on the premises. Via thecenterofshopping.com
40% of millennials prefer digital gift cards
Shoppers overwhelmingly prefer physical gift cards over digital despite the rise of both online and mobile shopping, even among younger shoppers. A new report by Stored Value Solutions reveals that nearly 40 percent of consumers ages 18 to 35 expressed a preference for digital gift cards, but 64 percent of all shoppers surveyed had not yet bought or received a digital or mobile gift card.
Millennials were more likely to have purchased or received a digital card and one-third of males cited a preference for digital. The reasons behind the trends are varied and the study even cited physical proximity as influencing which medium is selected: Face-to-face gift exchanges prompt the purchase of physical cards while digital is more likely to be selected for gifting in absentia. Via fierceretail.com
Internet Of Things Holiday Sales: 50 Million Smart Objects
Many things of The Internet of Things are quickly getting into the hands of consumers. We’re talking about a lot of connected devices being bought now as holiday gifts.
More than 50 million smart gadgets will be sold during this holiday season, based on a new global estimate. And that doesn’t even include smartphones, according to the estimate by the Online Trust Alliance, an industry non-profit focused on advancing best practices in consumer security and privacy. Via mediapost.com
If you’re shopping this holiday weekend, to help bolster the seasonal sales, keep an eye on the grounds and your credit card. Enjoy your weekend and we’ll be back with more news you can use on Monday. Don’t forget to subscribe so that you get more valuable news in your inbox every Monday to Friday morning like clockwork.