Holiday Shopping Trends 2017
In the United States, retail online sales are expected to jump 16.6% this 2017 holiday season, driven by increases in mobile or smart device transactions and the intensifying online battle between Amazon, large retailers, digital, huge marketplaces and independent online sellers. At the same time, total retail sales will grow a moderate 3.1%, as retailers continue to experience heavy discounting during the core holiday shopping months of November and December. Started by the low price strategy of Amazon, the online marketplace uses heavy discounting in order to generate the needed holiday sales.
The time frame of the holiday season continues to lengthen as well. Nearly a third of holiday gift buyers polled last year said they started their shopping in October or earlier; this year, even more shoppers will start early. Hence on Tuesday, Oct. 31 - Halloween it is expected to set the tone for holiday shopping in the US.
With the more steep competition online, E commerce's share of total retail sales during the 2017 holiday shopping season will reach a record 11.5%. The continued growth of online sales—particularly smartphone commerce, which will rise by an estimated 57.8% in 2017 overall.
Consumers expect variable fulfillment options, as half now buy online and pick up in-store. Voice-activated virtual assistants are also influencing holiday shopping, though mainly as a search tool as it’s still early days for the platforms. Typical stores like Best Buy, go strongly on store pick up is now recently introduced by Walmart stores within the hour. Lay Buy's as well as 12-24 months no interest financing are a huge area in electronics for example.
In the book business, with the mighty Amazon still the main shopping place, trailing by marketplaces like Barnes & Noble, Sears, Ebay, Etsy, Wanelo. It's all about heavy discounting, deals, free and fast shipping and offer of financing. When it was a 30% success ratio for a starting or fledgling independent bookseller a few years ago is now down to 20%. Due to the heavy discounting which main culprits are UK drop shippers and the like, they can go as low as 55% of the book retail price and even lower than 20% of the prevailing direct publishers prices. If your wondering how that can be, your guess is just as good as mine. Yes, if your planning to start an online book selling on the side, you can still eventually succeed but be prepared to sweat blood especially as all your going to see are negative income profits after everyone involved in that sale gets their cuts on fees, charges and commissions.
This year saw the demise of Half.com after the last couple of years of struggling to keep it up while killing each of half.com sellers on fees, fees and fees while striking them on un-bias negative feedback's and violations when the seller would fight not to pay such fees. At any rate RIP and good riddance. As we know who owns Half.com, we already know what are the series of events that will follow together with the other book marketplaces who soon are on their way out of business.
Yet meanwhile, they will heavily discount while killing third party sellers on fees, commissions and disallowing listing who would not lower those prices to the days when Amazon had the one penny sellers as strategy to get more traffic. Of course, they will still dominate Google Ad words and Bing Ads, but it's all about Social Media, Feeds, Shares, Likes and Comments nowadays.
In spite of the competition and heavy discounting, future independent online sellers do have that hope on getting their own website traffic and steady increase on their own website sales and loyal customers. When that day comes, we should all run a conglomerated advertisement that this is now the Dee Day for online book selling.
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