Holiday Shopping Trends: Online Experiences and Mobile Purchases

Each year the holiday shopping season seems to start earlier and earlier, with back-to-school promotions replaced by pumpkins and holly wreaths in the blink of an eye. Yet each holiday season stands alone when it comes to understanding how and where consumers will spend their hard-earned money.

Projections for the 2023 holiday shopping season are largely still being determined, thanks to the ongoing potential for interest rate hikes and continued inflation. As consumers tighten their purse strings for everyday goods like groceries and toiletries, we’ll likely see an impact on spending around the holidays too. Retailers will need to pull out all the stops with immersive, personalized experiences to get consumers’ attention and budget. This is just one of the many trends shaping this holiday shopping season, outlined below.

As an ever-increasing number of shoppers head online for their purchases, retailers are creating more immersive digital spaces, some of which draw inspiration from brick-and-mortar experiences. Livestream fashion shows, how-to videos, personalized messaging and recommendations, and augmented reality (AR) features that allow you to “try on” clothes or sample makeup are among the many digital shopping methods retailers are implementing to help customers get an in-store experience at home.

For many companies, serving shoppers at a variety of channels – from websites and marketplaces to physical stores and product catalogs – is becoming the “new normal.” While many people have become accustomed to shopping from their laptops, smartphones, and tablets in the comfort of their own homes, others find a mix of online and offline shopping even more convenient. Retailers have become increasingly adept at offering hybrid alternatives like curbside pickup and click-and-collect, also known as buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS). Some of those pickup points include “dark stores” – retail spaces that have been transformed into dedicated fulfillment centers.

Still, browsing brick-and-mortar stores remains an appealing option, especially for those with cabin fever – a Google survey found only 14% of U.S. shoppers said they won’t shop in-store during the holiday season.¹ Nevertheless, even in-store shoppers often rely on various digital touchpoints, such as reading product reviews and comparing prices online, before making a purchase decision.

Shopping on mobile devices continues to gain traction. According to Adobe, 45% of revenue in Q4 2022 came from smartphones.² And in between holiday dinners and exchanging presents, Americans found pockets of time to scroll and click: Last year revenue from mobile shopping on Christmas Day, which has become a top shopping holiday for digital customers, rose to a record-setting 61%.

 
Smartphones are evident in physical stores too, with staffers increasingly using mobile checkout devices to help manage lines.

Though online shopping is no longer novel, the way people discover new brands and trends is shifting. When seeking gift inspiration, more people are turning to social media apps for curated recommendations and personalized ideas. And according to one report, the global social commerce market size is expected to continually gain traction over the coming years.³ 

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) services can help consumers purchase goods today and foot the bill in the weeks or months following. These services are projected to grow in popularity by an estimated 19% in 2023.⁴ As economic conditions remain uncertain, consumers may look to BNPL services to combat rising inflation. Plus, those consumers may benefit from timely BNPL payments in a way they hadn’t before. As credit bureaus become more comfortable with tracking BNPL transactions, taking out one of these short-term loans has potential to build credit scores as long as payments are made on time and in full.

In a survey of holiday shoppers in early November 2022, the National Retail Federation found that 60% of respondents said they started browsing or buying by early November.⁵ And 2023 is expected to follow suit. 60% of early shoppers said the primary reason was to spread out their shopping budget. Economic uncertainty may cause even more consumers to buy early to ensure they can meet holiday shopping needs, even on a tighter budget.