
Historic Holiday Season In Spite of the Supply Chain
What does this mean for eCommerce? That it is still strong, in spite of all of its flaws, Covid shutdowns, and oceans to travel this past holiday season!
The Stats
According to experts, consumer spending increased from November 1 to 24th by 19.2%, decreased 1.4% during Cyber Week (Thanksgiving to Monday, and then increased by 5.6% After Cyber Monday. It seems the “extended holiday season” helped kick off the shopping season quite strong and consumer spending still was able to grow in the typical cyber week and holiday weeks for shopping.
Another major milestone hit his year was a significant uptick to days with more than $3B spent. Last year, there were 25 days with more than $3B spent daily, and this year there were even more with 38 days.
Challenges for consumers
Consumers faced challenge after challenge this holiday season and were warned early on to allow plenty of time for products to arrive. As the season progressed, many items were out of stock and consumers would have to wait weeks for products to be restocked (if ever).
Another challenge was the drastically lower level of discounts offered this holiday season. Typically, electronics are discounted roughly 20%, but this year had less than 8% level of discount. This occurred across many different products and, yet according to the numbers, consumers still chose to purchase.
Inflation also impacted the price of most goods and living expenses. As consumers try to stretch the dollar further, many still chose to pay the inflated prices of merchandise this holiday season.
According to experts, the biggest take away from this past holiday season is that “demand for online shopping was not deterred by persistent supply chain challenges, as retailers contend with congested ports, carto delays and disruptions overseas manufacturing.”
In spite of all of the restrictions like access to products, inflation and reduced discounts, consumers were able to ultimately spend and provide the holiday season of their choosing after two long pandemic years of being apart from loved ones.
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